Closer
by ScarletAngel68
Summary: Set after Nevermore. Raven and Beast Boy have moments. For fourteen chapters. Until you, the reader, are tearing your hair out, groaning, 'Gosh darnit, just get together so I can stop reading.' [Complete.]
1. Rain

_Disclaimer_: Teen Titans belongs to Glen Murakami. I'm just here to drool over the animation and write about the characters.

_Pairings_: Primarily Beast Boy/Raven; peripheral Robin/Starfire.

_Notes_: Written post-"Nevermore." In case the summary didn't do its job, _Closer_ follows the friendship (and eventual romance) of Beast Boy and Raven. Tell me in reviews or e-mails of any grammatical or plotty mistakes. This story has been complete for a while, but if you liked it, drop me a review, because I love to know people are still reading.

**CLOSER  
Chapter One: Rain  
**

It wasn't a dark and stormy night.

In fact, it was a gray and mildly rainy afternoon, and in the Titans Tower, the Titans faced one of their most formidable foes – perhaps even the worst of them all.

The name of this foul adversary? _Boredom_.

Starfire leaned over the couch, watching Beast Boy and Cyborg play _Kung Fu Karate Ninjutsu Master Part III: Sumo-Mania. _

**GAME OVER!** the screen declared in a font that, to Beast Boy, seemed a little more smug than necessary.

Starfire cheered enthusiastically for Cyborg, unaware of the generous amounts of salt she was pouring on Beast Boy's wounded ego. "You have defeated the ninjas yet again!"

"YES! In your furry green face!"

"_Dude_," Beast Boy objected indignantly. "My face is not _furry_."

"I apologize. You're totally right. You just _wish_ it was. Look at you, you don't even have peach fuzz." Cyborg patted Beast Boy's cheek affectionately.

Beast Boy flailed at his friend's hand, attempting unsuccessfully to avoid the condescending pat. "Like _you're_ walking around with a beard? Yeah, don't even talk."

"That's 'cause I shave, little man. You on for another match? I'll bet you next month's dishwashing that I can beat all our high scores ever this time." He struck a majestic pose and intoned deeply, "For I, my diminutive friend, am the Kung Fu Karate Ninjutsu master."

"You can't beat the high scores we have now, dude."

"Why not?" Starfire asked, her voice lightly teasing. "Are you not the 'masters' of this game?"

"We beat every level, found every cheat code, annihilated every enemy, and scored every single possible point," Beast Boy told her gloomily.

"And...this is bad? You have achieved ultimate victory!"

"But now there's no _poin__t_ to it all."

Cyborg sighed dismally and sank back onto the couch. "I forgot we'd beaten everything." He groaned, "We've got to get some new games, man! I refuse to believe we've reached the maximum high score on every game we own. _Refuse_. There is something fundamentally wrong with the world when that happens. It's the goal, the nirvana of video games, but when that happens, when you achieve it..._what's left_?" He lay a heavy hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. The two looked together into the distance sadly, as if observing the bleak future ahead of them, comrades in a cruel world.

"...Well, what?" asked Starfire, obviously intrigued by video game philosophy according to Cyborg, but looking dubious as to where he was going with this.

"Nothing!" Cyborg declared. "_Game over_. There's nothing left to do but wait for the next game."

"It'd be nice to get part four of Kung Fu Karate Ninjutsu Master. I hear it's called _Samurai Madness_. Totally don't feel like going out for new games, though." Beast Boy gestured limply at the rain outside, which had just turned from a gentle patter to a downpour. "Look at that. It's completely nasty out there."

"What do you suggest we do?" Starfire said, stricken, looking as though the boys' angst-ridden and video-game-inspired existentialism was about to rub off on her.

"I don't know. You want to just play Kung Fu Karate Ninjutsu Master Part III again?" Cyborg paused. "For the trillionth time in a row?"

"Fifteenth," Beast boy stated dully.

"Really? I believe I counted sixteen. I may have miscounted," Starfire added diplomatically.

"It was _seventeen_," a voice interrupted. It varied just slightly from its usual monotonous level, laced this time with irritation. "For every time your victory cheers interrupted my meditation."

The three titans on the sofa turned to the large window where Raven sat, back to them. Three apprehensive grins appeared.

Beast Boy scratched the back of his head nervously. "Heh. Sorry, Raven. Uh. " He looked to Cyborg for backup.

"Yeah, we'll be quiet! No worries, right guys?" The other two nodded enthusiastically.

"Thank you." She returned to her meditation as the others let loose a silent, collective sigh of relief.

"Hey, guys." Robin strode into the room, rubbing his dark hair dry with a towel. He walked through the room and into the kitchen, but a moment later groaned and walked back empty-handed. "Where's all the food? The fridge is completely empty." He stood behind the couch, folding his arms. "Cyborg. Did you eat everything again?"

The accused party twisted around to face. "Hey. That's uncalled for. I'm _hurt_." He threw his hands up when Robin stared at him impassively. "Rob, what ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? There are three other people in the room, and you automatically think it's me? _And_," he added as he squinted his eyes suspiciously, "how do we know it wasn't YOU?"

The Boy Wonder rolled his eyes. "One," he counted off on his fingers, "I wouldn't complain and draw attention to it right now if it were me. Two, Starfire and Raven wouldn't clean out the entire fridge, as they respect the fact that there are other people in the tower who have to eat too. Three, Beast Boy wouldn't devour three pounds of _roast beef_, and four – you have sauce on the side of your mouth."

Cyborg quickly rubbed at his face. "I washed it all off!"

"Ah-HA!" Robin pointed triumphantly at Cyborg.

Beast Boy threw a disgusted look at his friend, scandalized. "_Three pounds_ of beef? Think of the poor cow that had to give up its life for that."

Starfire looked at Cyborg sadly. "I planned to use that roast beef for my pudding."

The three boys shuddered as one at the thought of Starfire's pudding. "Now aren't you happy I ate everything? Uh. No offense, Star."

Robin rubbed his towel across his face, frustrated. "What are we going to do for dinner?" He looked outside. "I guess we're going to have to go out. Starfire, you up for the supermarket?"

"I love the market! I will purchase more pudding ingredients. Would anyone like to accompany us?"

"Like I said, not going out there." Beast Boy made a face at the weather outside. "No way."

Cyborg nodded. "For once, I've got to agree with BB. If I wanted to go out, I'd be out there getting some new games." He turned hopefully to look at the other two. "You wouldn't mind stopping by the game store and..."

Robin rolled his eyes and cut him off. "If we have time. Raven, you're not coming, are you?" He was answered with silence, and he nodded curtly. "Okay. Come on Star. If we're lucky, the jumbo mustard bottles are on sale today."

"Oh Robin, that would be delightful! Perhaps we..." Starfire's voice faded from earshot as she and Robin left.

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "Those two are practically married already. I wish one of them would make a move."

Beast Boy laughed a little. "I don't know. Robin's way too uptight for someone like Star. It'd be, like, weird. They're best friends and all, but...well, maybe a pining look or two here and there. Or all the time. And Star's always hanging on to his every word like it's gospel. And he's always freaking out about her, all, like, '_STARFIRE_!'" He waved his arms around in imitation. He frowned. "Fine, maybe you're onto something there. But you totally know he won't try anything on her. She's gonna jump him, you watch."

There was a little "blip-beep!" and Cyborg looked at a small screen on his arm. "Good thing I didn't tag along with the lovebirds. I gotta charge up." He hauled himself up. "I still haven't installed a charger in the T-Car."

"Hey. Hey! You can't just go shut down on me. I'm bored and video-gameless, here. What am I supposed to do?"

Cyborg rapped Beast Boy on the head with his large knuckles. "I'm sure you've got some ideas lurking around in all that fluff." Cyborg headed off to his room, chuckling.

"Some friend!" Beast Boy called after him.

He heaved a dramatic sigh. He was all alone, with nothing to do. "Now what?" he muttered. He looked to the ceiling to see if it held any answers. Finding it disappointingly lacking in entertainment, his eyes scanned the rest of the empty room.

He found that the room wasn't so empty, after all. He sauntered casually to the window and plunked down next to Raven. "Hey, babe, what's _your_ sign?"

No answer.

He noticed how silent the room was, save for the pattering of rain at the window. It hadn't struck him as unusual, but now he realized that Raven's familiar, muttered mantra was conspicuously absent. He snuck a peek at her. She sat crossed-legged but didn't hover above the floor, and instead of the closed eyes or unfocused gaze that usually accompanied her meditating, her dark eyes were trained on the rain outside.

"So much for meditating, huh?"

She looked startled and glanced at him as if just now noticing him. "What?"

"You're not meditating. Just staring at the rain?"

"I am," she said evasively.

He persisted. "Well. How come?"

"I feel like watching the rain." She gave him a look, making clear she had no wish to continue the exchange.

Beast Boy took the message and sat silently – for a few seconds.

Boredom set in again, suffocating as ever. "_W__hy_?"

Raven frowned at him. He looked back inquiringly, eyebrows raised, waiting. Finally seeming to resign herself to the fact that he wasn't going away until she answered, she said, "I like the rain, that's all."

He took up the thread of conversation again readily. "I'm not too much of a fan. You can't go outside because it's all slippery and nasty, and I always feel like I have to take a shower or something when I go out in it. Which is just weird, 'cause you're already getting all wet, you know?"

He wished he could tell if she were listening. "I guess," was all she responded with. She turned her gaze back to the rain, leaving him wishing he hadn't spoken after all.

But uncomfortable with the silence threatening to take over again, he asked, "So uh, why do you like it?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

He nudged her. "You're killing me, Rae."

She narrowed her eyes, but added grudingly, "It's peaceful. I think about how it can be so different from how it is right now." She stopped, but Beast Boy waved his hand, encouraging her to continue. Raven frowned again, but did so. "It's soothing, but it can be a storm, flooding rivers and streams. It changes, like human nature. But we have no control over the weather like we do ourselves. It's very free," she added, a little wistfully.

"That's pretty deep."

She shook her head as if shaking the thoughts from her brain. "Just something that was on my mind while I had some time to think."

Beast Boy snapped his fingers and pointed at her, grinning impishly. "That's it! You'll just have to spend more time with us, then."

Raven rolled her eyes. "You say that like having time to _think_ is a problem. This," she said, looking at him pointedly, "would explain a lot."

"I'm just saying, you know?"

"I ate that tofu garbage with you yesterday, at least."

"You said you liked it!" He put a hand over his heart, wounded. His tofu was _not_ garbage.

"I didn't feel like crushing you like that, not when you were so happy at someone actually trying your cooking. It's cheeseburgers and filet mignon for me from now on."

"You hate fast food," Beast Boy said, put out.

"The filet mignon, anyway. I admit I was kidding about the burgers."

"Raven? Joking? Somebody alert the presses!"

Raven said dryly, "You of all people should know why I don't joke around, especially after yesterday."

"I – you're right. Sorry." He made a valiant effort to lighten the mood again. "Happy Raven was pretty funny. Good taste, too. She liked my jokes." Maybe another reminder of the day before wasn't the greatest idea, he thought too late, and winced.

He spotted a flash of her smile before she ducked her head. "Don't let it get around."

He laughed, but pantomimed zipping his lips. "I'll take it to the grave."


	2. Presents

_Disclaimer_: I own neither the characters nor the setting. I wouldn't mind owning Titan's Tower though...but that's beside the point! Just, uh, don't sue me.

_Review Replies_: **Calisto, Dark, Audi Katia, ShaleahRaven, Kestrel, **and** Weeble Wobble Chic**: I couldn't send you guys an e-mail, so I'll thank you here for leaving such wonderful reviews. I'm so glad you liked it, and took the time to review this story- I just hope any future chapters of this will live up to any of your expectations!

_Author's Note_: A warning, beloved readers: Yes, this is a Romance genre story. There will be romance. However, I have an issue with characters being completely in denial/unaware of their feelings, then realizing and suddenly declaring their undying love only minutes later. So Beast Boy and Raven are going to take it slow, for now. As in, snail-pace. I'm so mean. However, this chapter _is_ where Beast Boy's crush first develops. Enjoy!

_Timeline_: Middle of March, about one month after Chapter Two ("Watching Rain").

* * *

**Closer**

**Chapter Two: Birthday Gifts**

Raven was not wearing her usual clothes, and not doing something she would normally do. Instead of her familiar leotard and cape, she wore normal blue jeans and an especially baggy gray college sweatshirt, with her dark hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. She was furiously scrubbing Cyborg's "baby". The car's hood was now so lustrous a person could see his reflection in it, and she was now wiping clean the windshield.

She stepped back a moment. Peering into her reflection on the car's surface, she thought of the day the other Titans had first seen the new, improved T-Car. Starfire had predictably squealed and gushed praise over how nice it looked, while Robin had just grinned wide, saying, "Good work." Raven smirked as she thought of Beast Boy, admiring the car first, and then his own reflection in the rearview mirrors. It was just like him, that self centered—

She noticed a movement from the corner of her eye and raised her head.

"Uh, Raven?" Speak of the devil.

"What?" she snapped. She succeeded in hiding her surprise at Beast Boy's sudden appearance. He, on the other hand, visibly flinched at her tone.

"I just wanted to apologize....I shouldn't have, ah, assumed—"

"No, _I_ should apologize. After all, I'm the one who 'forgot' your present."

Beast Boy rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. "Heh, yeah, about that...."

* * *

≡_One Hour Ago_≡

"Happy birthday, Beast Boy! I am so pleased to be able to celebrate this joyous occasion with you once again! Perhaps you will allow me to recite The Poem of Joyous Occasions for all of you this year?"

"Maybe later, Star....Hey, don't you want us to open presents first?" Beast Boy said this last part enthusiastically, trying to avert her attention so she'd forget about the long winded poem she was no doubt ready to spew out at any second now. The other Titans nodded with equal enthusiasm, obviously with the same thoughts as Beast Boy.

"Oh yes! Please open mine first Beast Boy. I hope you like it." She smiled hopefully as Beast Boy picked out a present from the small table in front of him. It was easy to find, wrapped rather clumsily in bright pink and purple wallpaper.

Beast Boy eyed the large present with delight. "Dude! This has got to be at least three feet tall! Hey...isn't this the same paper that's on the bathroom wall?" Apparently it didn't matter as Beast Boy tore the paper off with glee. But his expression soon turned to one of confusion, as he looked at the large object in his arms. "Wow...it's a giant...green...teddy bear?"

Starfire giggled. "Don't be silly, Beast Boy! It is you! I made it myself." Her expression grew concerned. "Do you not like it?"

Beast Boy blinked, and then looked at her reassuringly. "Of course I like it! After all, it is me, isn't it?" He grinned as Cyborg laughed.

"Aw, man, for sure! I should've gotten you a mirror for your birthday!"

"Hey, not too late. As long as it's not like Raven's mirror." He made a face.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Beast Boy, if you had a mirror like mine, it would be empty."

It took a moment for Beast Boy to get this, but when he did Cyborg had to burst out laughing again at the look on his face, and Starfire and Robin looked at each other, vaguely confused.

"Yo! It's my birthday, you're supposed to be NICE to me, remember??"

"I'm sorry Beast Boy. It must have slipped my mind," Raven deadpanned as she eyed the streamers and giant "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BB" sign, courtesy of Starfire.

Beat Boy crossed his arms, pretending to act offended. "Fine. I'll forgive you. But you'd better have a good present!"

Raven shook her head, this time looking truly apologetic. "Sorry. I ordered it, but it hasn't come yet."

"Oh...so you really did forget my birthday." Beast Boy was obviously trying to act nonchalant, and very nearly succeeded. "Don't worry about it; I forget stuff all the time."

Raven looked at him. "Beast Boy, didn't I just say it hasn't come in the mail yet?"

He waved his hand in a dismissing manner. "No, I know what you mean. It's a good excuse, really. I've just used it too many times to actually fall for it."

Her hands clenched into loose fists. "Are you trying to call me a liar? Don't you know me better than that?" Her voice had risen, just a little bit.

He raised his hands. "I understand! I'm not calling you a liar exactly, I'm just saying, there's nothing wrong with forgetting my birthday- I mean, I didn't really expect you to remember...."

A glass on the table started to glow black, but she noticed and quickly regained control. "I can't believe this. Not only do you think I'd actually forget your birthday, the one you've been talking about nonstop for the past month, but you think I'd lie about it?" She shook her head and stopped. Then she stated calmly, "I'm not going to waste time with this. It's trivial, and obviously going nowhere. I'll be in my room or something. Later."

Everyone stared as Raven turned on her heel and strode out of the room. Then Robin faced Beast Boy. "You should apologize."

"What? She's the one who forgot my birthday! All I was doing was trying to tell her it was okay!"

Robin sighed. "Did you stop to think that Raven was telling the truth? She acts like she doesn't, but she does care about us; probably more than we know. I think it hurt a little that you didn't believe her."

Cyborg nodded. "You know that he's right, B. Raven looked pretty upset."

"Yes, I agree. You two must make amends." Starfire looked at Beast Boy pleadingly.

Beast Boy crossed his arms defiantly, but he sounded slightly unsure of himself. "No way! I'm not apologizing. Anyway, she has no proof. Can't we just finish opening presents? I don't want to think about this." He sighed resignedly at their looks. "Fine. I'll talk to her...later." At that point there was a buzzing sound.

"That'll be the mail. I'll get it." Cyborg rose from the couch to do so.

"Ever wonder how the mail guy gets our mail here? I wonder if he has a boat, or something," commented Beast Boy.

Cyborg came back a few moments later with an armful of envelopes and packages. "I hate fan mail," he grunted from behind the pile. Then he unceremoniously dumped the presents and birthday cards into Beast Boy's lap. It seemed as if every person in Jump City had remembered his birthday.

"Sweet!" He dug in, hastily ripping out cards from envelopes and shaking them to see if there was money inside. He moved on to packages, but frowned as he picked up the first. "This isn't for me, it's for Raven...."

Robin was leaning over Beast Boy's shoulder, and now took the opportunity to point out, "It's FROM Raven."

There on the package was a label, clearly reading:

"_To be delivered to Titans Tower-_

_From: Raven_

_To: Beast Boy_"

"Crap. You don't think it's a bomb or something, do you?"

Cyborg could only really roll one eye, but it got the message across. "She wasn't mad when she sent it, smart one. Or ordered it, whatever. Unless she suddenly has the power to change presents before they even get there, I'm guessing it's something non-life threatening."

All the same, Beast Boy was hesitant opening it. He tore the tape off and lifted the lid a fraction. He peeked in and his eyes widened. He threw open the box and snatched out its contents. "It's...it's _Seek and Pursuit Eleven_! The game that's supposed to not even have come out yet! Holy...I can't believe it!" Then he smacked his forehead against the game. "Aw, man! Now I have to go apologize...."

Starfire plucked the game from his hands. "Good, you have seen the error of your ways. Now go say you are sorry!"

Beast Boy grabbed the game back and clutched it to his chest protectively. "I'm going," he muttered, and stalked up to Raven's room. But when he knocked, there was no answer. "Raven? on, answer! You can't ignore me forever!" He was going to open the door, but remembered what had happened last time, and thought better of it. He went to return to the living room. On his way, he noticed that the door to the garage was open. Knowing that it usually wasn't left open, he realized Raven must be down there. Sighing, he descended the first three steps, and then stopped.

There was a stranger in the basement. A stranger that was washing their car, oddly enough. The person's back was to him, and he eyed the stranger suspiciously. She had her back to him and was wearing an overlarge sweatshirt and jeans that had seen better days. She also had dark hair that had a distinct purple tinge....

He realized with a start as she turned her head slightly that it really was Raven. He had never seen her in anything other than her uniform, and hadn't even recognized her. He didn't say anything, not sure he wanted to make his presence known while she was still mad at him. Apparently she was taking it out a little on the car, scrubbing so hard with the soapy sponge in her hand that he was almost surprised it didn't leave marks. Beast Boy debated just turning back and waiting until she cooled off a little.

He blinked as she leaned forward to wipe the middle of the windshield, the sweatshirt lifting just enough so that....He hastily averted his gaze upwards, where he could see her profile. He unconsciously studied her, looking at her calm face, noticing her hair wasn't down as it usually was, but pulled back with an elastic. He could see her slender neck stretching out, graceful, and he couldn't help thinking that she really was pretty....

He shook his head hard. Those were new thoughts. Bad thoughts. Thoughts Raven would most likely kill him for, if she found out about them. He was quite sure she could. Kill him, that was. Not find out what his thoughts were. But now that he thought about it, he remembered she had another power that had something to do with minds....Eep. He would have to ask her about that.

All this flew through his mind as she turned her head, having apparently noticed him shaking his own as he had tried to rid himself of those other thoughts of Raven.

"Uh, Raven?" Might as well try act like he hadn't been watching her for the last few minutes.

"What?" she snapped. He flinched, hoping she wouldn't hurt him.

"I just wanted to apologize....I shouldn't have, ah, assumed—"

"No, _I_ should apologize. After all, I'm the one who 'forgot' your present."

Beast Boy rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. "Heh, yeah, about that....I just got it in the mail a few minutes ago."

"Really." Was there a hint of smugness in her voice?

"Yeah....I feel so stupid. _Don't_ say anything to that. Anyway. I really am sorry. I acted like a jerk, a little bit. And I opened the present. It was really awesome." He hopped down the rest of the stairs and to her side. "How did you know I wanted this game? How did you know it even existed? And most importantly, how the heck did you get a hold of it? It's not due to come out until fall!"

"You kept on talking about it when you found out a new version was coming out."

"Whoa. You were listening to me?"

"No, not really. But when someone keeps repeating something over and over- namely you talking about uh, _Seekers of Pursuit_ or whatever- it sort of got beaten into my brain. The real reason I noticed was because a fan who writes to me a lot happens to work at the company who made it. I think he was one of the designers. He mentioned it a few times in his letters. When I heard you talking about it I asked it he had any done and if he could send it if he did, I told him you wanted it. He was more than happy to."

"Wow. Thanks so much!" He threw his arms around her, but withdrew immediately when he felt her stiffen. "Oh. Ha. Sorry. So...do you forgive me?"

Raven took the video game from his hands and studied the back of the box. "I don't know....Maybe I should just send this back to Dave....After all, you seemed perfectly willing to accept you weren't getting a present from me, weren't you?"

"What? No!" He moved to take the game back, but she wouldn't let him.

She smirked as she held up the box just out of Beast Boy's reach, and he reached up towards it in vain. "It pays being taller than you. Then again, most people are, aren't they?"

"Raven!" He was reduced to jumping up and down, trying to snatch the game from her outstretched hand, but though she was only a little taller, it was enough. But then...Raven's eyes traveled upwards as she watched him morph into a giraffe, and he neatly plucked the box from her fingers. He shrank down again. "Never EVER mention my height, okay?"

"Oh, fine. And yes, I do forgive you."

"Cool!" Then Beast Boy's happy expression turned to a slightly puzzled one. "Hey, why are you washing Cy's car?"

"I left a book of mine down here a while ago. I came back for it and my shoulder hit some paint and spilled a little on his car, so I got some soap and water and cleaned it. It's a good thing that paint was the cheap kind. It came right off."

He raised an eyebrow. "So what's with the clothes? I didn't even know you owned any clothes other than your uniform!"

She looked down at the outfit, as if she had forgotten what she was wearing. "Oh, these aren't mine. Remember that dumb undercover mission Robin made us go on? Where we had to dress up as civilians?"

Beast Boy laughed out loud. "The one where Cyborg had to wear so much stuff to hide his machine half that he kept bumping into things because the hood blocked his view? That was so priceless! He blew the entire thing, practically. He's developing some kind of hologram thing, or something, just because it pissed him off so much."

Raven smirked, but made no comment on that. "I found some of the leftover clothing from that in a box over there, and I put this on so I wouldn't get my clothes dirty."

"Oh, good idea." Then he remembered something. "Hey, by the way, can you read minds?"

She gave him a look that clearly said, '_that_ came out of the blue'. "Beast Boy, I'm an empath, not a telepath."

He wasn't sure what that meant, but from the context decided it must mean that she couldn't read minds. "Huh, well, that's good. You want me to help you dry the car?"

He didn't wait for an answer, just grabbing a rag from a shelf. They wiped the car off in what might have been considered an silence. But Beast Boy was just glad she hadn't gotten too mad, and had forgiven him instead of blowing the entire thing out of proportion. They had finished drying just when they heard Starfire's voice call down to them. "Beast Boy! Raven! Are you down there?"

"Yeah Star, we're right here!"

"Have you two reconciled? If so, you must come back up to finish opening your presents! The cake is ready as well!"

Raven told her, "We'll be right up. Just give me one minute."

"All right!" Starfire left, presumably to let Robin and Cyborg know that all was well.

"'Kay, let's go up." Then Beast Boy's eyes went wide. Raven was tugging at the hem of the gray sweatshirt, and was now pulling it over her head. "Raven, what are you—_oh_, okay." She threw the sweatshirt into a box on the shelf, and Beast Boy realized she still had her uniform on underneath. He breathed a small sigh of relief. She pulled off the jeans and placed them in the same box. Then she walked over to a corner where she took her cloak from a hook and swung it around her shoulders. She grabbed what must have been the book she came down for, and turned back to him.

"Let's go."

Beast Boy paused, still a little flustered from what he thought had been happening. "Come on, B! I want some cake!" He smiled at Cyborg's yell and followed Raven up the stairs.

"I could use some cake, too."

* * *

_Final Author's Note_: Please keep in mind I'm trying as hard as I can to get Raven to open up a little without it being too out of character or powers-out-of-control-y. But tell me if there is anything wrong with her, anyone else, or any_thing_ else (i.e. grammar, what little plot there is, or TT facts), and I'll try to fix it. I also do not know when _Nevermore_ took place, nor when Beast Boy's birthday is- I merely placed them in February and March for my writing convenience.

Remember to review!


	3. Water Wars

_Disclaimer_: I own neither the characters nor the setting. So don't sue me, even though I have LOADS of money and you would get billions of dollars if you did. My hamster also has wings and we regularly let him out of his cage so he can fly around. In a word, I'm lying about everything except for the not owning the Teen Titans part.  
  
_Review Replies_: Oh my God. I'm still on a high from your ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL reviews, which were extremely ego-boosting. I checked my e-mail, and was kind of sad there were no reviews, so I just went down cellar to watch Early Edition. I come up an hour later to check again, and I have five reviews, all of them wonderful! I completely spazzed. Then the next day I check again and I have three more great reviews, one from Lain the Fluff-Master, who happens to be on my favorite authors list! So you can see I'm really happy. Anyone remember how I said in Chapter One I'd love you forever if you reviewed? Well I do. Anyway, thanks go to: dana1313, Kestrel, Dark, funvince, Weeble Wobble Chic, Lain the Fluff-Master, Darkfire, and Kelly Caldwell!  
  
_Author's Note_: So, the Teen Titans go to the beach. By the way, I wrote a rather depressing one-shot centering on Raven called "Wasn't Supposed to be Like This", if you would read it and tell me what you think, that'd be very nice. Anyway, here's Chapter Three!  
  
_Timeline_: Takes place in late August.

* * *

**__**

**__**

**_Chapter Three_: Water Wars**  
  
"Hey Rae! Whatcha readin'?"  
  
"The same thing I was reading yesterday, Beast Boy."  
  
Beast Boy thought. "Oh yeah, that you said was none of my business, and that I should leave you alone?"  
  
"Good job, have a cookie."  
  
He plopped down on the couch next to her. "Is that sarcasm I hear? You've been in a bad mood all week! You know what you need?"  
  
She was curled up on the couch, leaning against the arm. Now she slowly lowered the thick book she was holding, and peered at him over it. "Let me guess. A trip to the beach, which will brighten me right up, and where I'll be able to swim and get a tan, which is the cure for all 'bad moods'?"  
  
He laughed a little. "So I've said it before?"  
  
"Only once a week since summer started."  
  
"But this is our LAST chance to go to the beach! Summer is ending, it's almost September- then it'll get all cold and stuff. Please come with us- it'll be fun!" He changed into an adorable, wide-eyed kitten.  
  
"Beast Boy, that works with Star, not me. You know that. Why do you want me to go so much?"  
  
If Beast Boy had been in his human form, she would have seen him blush. Raven didn't know he'd had a crush on her for a few months now, and he didn't plan on her finding out anytime soon. Instead, he crept along the edge of the couch and leapt over her arm, which was still holding the book. He landed gently on her stomach and mewed at her.  
  
Looking into the kitten's huge, pleading eyes, she softened a bit. She sighed, pretending to be irritated. "If I do, will you get off me and out of my face?" The kitten mewed again, and nodded. "Fine, now _off_!" He didn't move, and she sighed again. Laying her book on the coffee table, she picked up the kitten and swung her legs over the edge of the couch. Then she dropped him.  
  
"HEY!" He was in human form now. "Not nice! You're lucky cats land on their feet!"  
  
"You said you'd get off, and you didn't."  
  
"Animal abuser. Anyway, I didn't SAY I'd get off, cats can't talk." He grinned triumphantly.  
  
"Whatever. I'm not going to the beach."  
  
"What? Oh come on Raven, I was just joking around a little!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the window. "Look at that sun! That water! Isn't it SO tempting? Come on, you know you want to!" He waggled his eyebrows at her.  
  
She raised an eyebrow at him; then she turned her gaze to the window. It was nice out.... "Well, I suppose once couldn't hurt."  
  
Just then, Cyborg came in. "So what are you two lovebirds doing?"  
  
Raven and Beast Boy blinked. "Lovebirds...?" Then they looked at their hands, which were still linked together, and jerked apart. Beast Boy was turning red, which was quite an accomplishment due to his green hue. Raven put her hood up to hide her blush.  
  
"I was just convincing Raven to go to the beach with us today, that's all."  
  
Cyborg smiled mischievously. "Oh really? And how exactly did you 'convince' her?"  
  
"Get your mind OUT of the gutter Cyborg. I'm going upstairs to get ready. Bye pervert. Later, Beast Boy."  
  
Cyborg waited until Raven was out of earshot. Then he turned to Beast Boy. "She totally digs you, man."  
  
"Really?" Beast Boy looked hopeful. "Um, I mean, what makes you think that?"  
  
Cyborg snorted. "Please. I KNOW you like her; it's pointless to deny it. And she's acting a lot less hostile toward you lately."  
  
"You think? Wait, I don't like her! Really! She's just my friend!"  
  
"Yeah, for now."  
  
"Dude, shut up! I'm going upstairs," Beast Boy grumbled, and stalked out of the room.  
  
Robin passed him in the doorway. He looked at Cyborg, then at the retreating Beast Boy. "What's with him?"  
  
"Oh, I just told him he's almost as gaga for Raven as you are for Star."  
  
"He is? Wait, Star? I don't have a thing for Star!" Robin was turning red, and quickly tried to change the subject. "So, uh, Beast Boy likes Raven, huh?  
  
"Dawg, you're less convincing than BB was! And yes, have you gone blind? Or has that mask been just blocking your view?" He chuckled. "I know; you must've been busy staring at Star. Beast Boy's been following Rae around like a puppy after its master. Hell, sometimes he actually morphs into a puppy! And Raven, who's supposed to be all smart and notice stuff, is completely oblivious!"  
  
"Hey, I do NOT stare at- Hey, Star!" He attempted to lean casually against the couch, but failed and ended up falling over.  
  
"Hello Robin!" Starfire approached them, obviously ready for the beach in a large, waist length button-down shirt that was covering the swimsuit underneath. "Are you ready to go to the beach? Who do you not stare at?"  
  
"Uh, it's nothing, really." Robin shot a glare at Cyborg as he righted himself. "Right, Cy?"  
  
Cyborg was trying to suppress a laugh. "Yeah, yeah, sure Rob."  
  
Starfire looked at them with confusion and a bit of suspicion- she had learned to become more observant since she'd come to Earth. It was gone in a moment though, overridden by her excitement to go to the beach. "Oh yes, Raven wishes to inform you all that the beach is pointless, and she is seriously considering not going, due to the attire she is being forced to wear."  
  
"What do you mean? She's not going?" Beast Boy had come up behind Starfire, dressed similarly to Robin in rather colorful swimming trunks and a T-shirt.  
  
"No," came a dry voice. "I just want you to know that I'm only doing this because it will finally get you off my back, I will never be doing this again, and this is completely degrading." Everyone turned to see Raven. She was dressed almost exactly the same as Starfire, except that instead of a yellow shirt she was wearing a light purple one. All the same, it was evident she'd had to borrow it from Starfire. Due to the height difference between the two girls, the shirt came almost to her knees.  
  
Beast Boy threw an arm companionably around her shoulders. "Aw, don't be such a party-pooper Rae, you look great! You should dress like Starfire more often!"  
  
She glared at him. "DON'T make me hurt you...."  
  
He quickly backed away. "Uh...looks like everyone's here, let's go!" He sprinted toward the garage, and the other Titans followed.  
  
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"Hey, B, Rob! You home? Yoo-hoo!" A mechanical hand flew into the gaze of each boy's face. "You guys are drooling..."  
  
They simultaneously blinked. Robin and Beast Boy wiped at their mouths. "Am not!"  
  
"Doesn't matter. B, you do realize if Raven caught you staring at her in a swimsuit, she'd kill you on the spot, right?"  
  
"Yeah but...I mean, come on! Look at her!" He paused, then frowned at them. "On second thought, don't!"  
  
The two girls were both lounging on their towels, Starfire chatting animatedly while Raven attempted to read. They both were wearing two pieces, which was unexpected at least for Raven. When asked, or rather stared at wordlessly, she had told her teammates irritably that the only bathing suit she owned was the one Starfire had given her for her birthday, and it happened to be a two piece. (A/N: The bathing suit, not the birthday! Duh....)  
  
Raven was growing more annoyed. She couldn't read with her friend chattering like this. Sighing, she laid the open book face down on her stomach and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. She blocked out the chatter and tried to think of other things. This would be a good time to figure out these new...feelings...for Beast Boy. The feelings that she had been determinedly ignoring for who knows how long, but was finally forced to acknowledge this morning when they had arrived at the beach. She could only be thankful no one had seen her staring when Beast Boy had pulled off the T-shirt, revealing- well, let us just say it was now obvious how hard Robin was working him and the other Titans. He was taller now too. He may not have grown that much, but now at least he was the same height as her. It occurred to her to wonder why he'd grown so fast in just a few months, but it probably had to do with his animal genetics.  
  
She tried not to think of it, but her mind- and eyes- kept drifting toward Beast Boy. Finally she decided to be brutally honest with herself. It wasn't like anyone could hear her thoughts, so thinking about it could do no harm. She was getting better at harnessing her emotions. So, brutal honesty? She was somewhat...attracted to Beast Boy. There, that wasn't that hard, was it?  
  
"Hey Raven, what's up?" She opened her eyes to see Beast Boy standing innocently above her. "So, you trying to get book shaped tan lines, or what?" Her glance flicked down to the book still resting on her stomach. Then it went to her surroundings. Starfire was burying Robin under the sand- she hadn't even noticed Star get up. Cyborg was...nowhere. Beast Boy was still looking down at her, looking as if he had just asked something.  
  
"Sorry, what?"  
  
"I said, can I see the book for a minute?" She narrowed her eyes, partly from the glare of the sun and partly from suspicion. Then she handed the book to him. "Thanks." But instead of looking at it, he just grinned at her and bent down, placing the book next to her feet. Then he grabbed her ankles, and she felt arms hook under her own arms. Judging from the feel of metal, they were Cyborg's.  
  
"What are you guys-?" They were picking her up and running toward the water, carrying Raven between them. Her eyes widened as she realized what they were doing. Before she could react, the boys had splashed halfway into the water, and were swinging her.  
  
"One..."  
  
"I'll kill you for this!"  
  
"Two..."  
  
"I swear to you--"  
  
"THREE!"  
  
She let out a small scream as she flew through the air, and landed with a huge splash. Cyborg and Beast Boy doubled over laughing as she came up, gasping for air. (A/N: She was gasping for air, not them. Well, fine, they were too). "Man, that was priceless!"  
  
"Did you see the look on her face?"  
  
Then the laughing and high-fiving stopped abruptly as they saw Raven rising above the water and into the air. Her hands began to glow with a familiar black energy, and Beast Boy and Cyborg panicked as they became encased in it. They rose above the shallow water and floated towards Raven. Her face was deadly serious.  
  
"Aw, Rae, come on, we were joking!"  
  
"Yeah, PLEASE don't kill us! I still have one level to beat on my game!"  
  
"Put us down! I'm begging you!"  
  
Her look softened. "Fine," she sighed reluctantly. Then the black energy disappeared, letting them fall at least ten feet to the water below, making an enormous splash. She smirked. "But you were really asking for that one."  
  
Cyborg came up almost immediately, sputtering about how nasty salt water tasted. But Beast Boy didn't come up. Growing a little concerned, Raven lowered herself down so that she was just above the water. "Beast Boy...?" Suddenly, a green dolphin came shooting up, changing into human in midair, and then grabbing her waist on the way back down into the water. She was pulled down, and only had a second to breathe in a lungful of air before she was underwater. Struggling against the boy's grip, she couldn't wiggle loose.  
  
When his air was almost gone, Beast Boy judged it was time to resurface, figuring Raven hadn't had enough time to get as much air as him. He swam up, still holding on to her waist. When they broke the surface he let go. When he turned to look at her though, she was floating limply on her back, eyes closed. "You okay, Rae? Raven?" Cyborg and Beast Boy swam over to check on her. Suddenly her eyes snapped open, glowing white. She stared straight ahead, trance-like.  
  
"Oh God, is she okay?"  
  
"I don't know...."  
  
Then her eyes seemed to focus on them, though still glowing. "Look up."  
  
They looked up.  
  
"AH!" Gallons of water, which had been encased in Raven's black energy, dumped down on them, effectively pushing them under the water once again. By the time they came back up, caught their breath and started swimming toward shore, Raven was way ahead of them. Beast Boy got on land first, having changed into a seal for most of the way. But by the time he got there Raven was sitting on the sand again, wrapped in a towel and reading. She had a small smile on her face. Beast Boy, still dripping water, raised an eyebrow. "You in a good mood now?"  
  
Cyborg had reached them. "Raven, you suck!"  
  
Robin, now free from the sand, and Starfire looked up at him with confused looks. They had obviously not been paying attention to what was happening. "What?"  
  
Raven chose to answer only Beast Boy. "Yes, I am. There's something about getting revenge on people by soaking them with water at an unsuspecting moment that does that." She returned her eyes to the book in her hands, but let her smile grow a little wider. "You know- we should go to the beach more often."

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_Final Author's Note_: Reviews are now my happy drugs- um, my legal, non- health threatening happy drugs. They confiscated my real ones. Joking! So review to help get Lisa high! 


	4. Graffiti

_Disclaimer_: I own the characters and setting; I'm also good friends with George Washington, I'm old enough to vote and I often have deep, two-sided conversations with my neighbor's cat. Gah, fine. I don't own the characters and setting, I don't know George Washington, I'm only thirteen and I have deep, one-sided conversations with my neighbor's cat. Happy?  
  
_Review Replies_: You guys were so sweet; I got that nice fuzzy feeling inside again. Hmm, Dark, do I get a cookie now? Hey, I liked your idea Tsusaka! Actually, I liked your review, and was trying to put it into my chapter, but since I'd already started writing it and it took place like, a month afterward, it didn't fit. Then I was actually thinking about making a new chapter just so I could mention it...so I did. Hee. Call me lame, I have no life- I can afford to make an extra chapter! See what leaving reviews can do? Leave them! Also, MyNaMeIsMuD19524, I'm so sorry- I probably should have made Raven kill them, but since Beast Boy was critical to the plot (Yes, there is a plot in all this chaos. Well, um, not really), I decided to just drench him and Cyborg a lot. It was fun. Well, this is going to end up longer than the chapter, so thanks go to: Kestrel, Weeble Wobble Chic, funvince, Darkfire, Lain the Fluff-Master, SilverGriffen, Tsukasa, Dark, MyNaMeIsMuD19524, DarkBird2, and Kestra!  
  
_Author's Note_: Yo! This was an unplanned chapter; I got the idea from Tsusaka, who said I should mention Raven's tan. So to write a new chapter, which would also give Raven and Beast Boy MORE time to spend with each other (as if they weren't, at least in this story), I asked my dad what activities he could think up that people bonded over. I vetoed his first idea ("drinking"), but "getting in trouble" gave me this idea.... I hope you enjoy it!  
  
_Timeline_: A few days after Chapter Three ("Water Wars")

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**__**

**_Chapter Four_: Green Spray-paint**

Beast Boy, Robin and Cyborg sat at the kitchen table, discussing something.  
  
"Man, you just TELL her, okay?"  
  
"But what if she doesn't-"  
  
The voices abruptly stopped when Raven walked through the room, holding a book in one hand. She pushed down her hood and gave them a curious look; then she shrugged and looked around for a bookmark so that she could put her book down. Finally snagging a clean napkin off the counter, she placed it in the book and began to get out a tea bag. Noticing the silence in the room, she turned and snapped, "What?"  
  
They collectively jumped. Robin nervously asked, "Uh, how much did you hear?"  
  
"Nothing. Are you plotting something? You had better not be...."  
  
Too quickly, Cyborg denied it. "No way! We were SO not talking about- mmph!"  
  
Robin covered his mouth. Beast Boy looked over at them, then at Raven. "So Raven, nice tan!" (A/N: See? The tan!)  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "Um, thanks. I'll be going now." She picked up her finished tea and book and padded quietly out of the kitchen, steam trailing from the cup.  
  
Beast Boy slouched sullenly in his chair. "She's never going to like me, is she? She barely knows I exist!"  
  
Cyborg laughed triumphantly. "So you ADMIT you like her!"  
  
Beast Boy opened his mouth to protest, then nodded his head in defeat. "What do I do?"  
  
Cyborg shrugged. "Weren't you listening to what I was _JUST_ telling Robin to do? You tell her you like her, and see what happens."  
  
The two said at the same time, "But what if she doesn't like me back?!"  
  
Cyborg shrugged. "Not my problem. But let me just tell you; I have a feeling you'd like the answers they would give you."  
  
Robin stood up suddenly. "Thanks for the advice, Cy. I'll think about it. Something else has been on my mind, though. We haven't fought anyone for at least a month.... Jump City hasn't had a single crime that we've had to take care of. I think we should patrol, make sure nothing's going on."  
  
Beast Boy sighed. "Dude, why can't you just be grateful for the break?"  
  
"Yeah, man. What's that saying about mouths and gift horses? Whatever it is, I think it definitely applies here!"  
  
Robin ignored the huge green horse now whinnying in his face, taking up a considerable amount of room in the kitchen. "Go get the girls. We're going patrolling."  
  
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The Teen Titans stood on the roof of a building in the heart of Jump City. "Guys, I think it's time we split up. Cyborg, you take the streets. I'll look around roofs; Star, Raven, Beast Boy, you guys fly, you can cover more ground that way. If anything big is up, use the communicator. Titans, go!"  
  
Robin leapt off the roof to the next one; Starfire took a moment to look after him before kindly flying Cyborg to the street below, then soaring off. Beast Boy and Raven were left. Beast Boy seemed to be considering something, and then turned to Raven.  
  
"Rae, can I talk to you for a sec? I wanted to ask you--"  
  
She held up her hand, looking like she was concentrating on something. "Someone's up to no good; I can sense it. I can't tell...wait, I think I can hear something...."  
  
Beast Boy's sensitive ears twitched. "It sounds...." He wiggled his nose, "and smells, like...spray-paint. A few alleys away, I think."  
  
Raven rolled her eyes. "Great, petty vandalism. Jump City's criminals are really up to no good, aren't they? Whatever, let's go."  
  
Beast Boy morphed into a hawk and took off, Raven right behind them. He was right; two alleys down, they spotted a teen in a Yankees cap (A/N: Boo! Um, no offense) spraying something on the brick wall of an apartment building. The two landed behind him and got a chance to see what he was writing.  
  
In crude, green letters was "TeeN TiTaNz SUK!" He was finishing the exclamation point when a voice behind him caused him to spin and drop the can.  
  
"It's nice to know we're thought of so fondly by our devoted fans."  
  
Beast Boy stepped up, pretending to carefully examine the graffiti. "Hey, I love the color, but I think this could use a little work." The two Titans turned to look at the Yankees cap kid, who was nervously backing away. Then he spun and began running down the alley.  
  
Raven started to chant. "Azarath, Metrion, Zin--"  
  
"Freeze!"  
  
Beast Boy jumped and spun around. Raven, on the other hand, turned slowly, clearly annoyed. "Sir, if you don't mind...."  
  
"Yes, I DO mind. You two vandals aren't going to get away this time! The Jump City police force is really cracking down on stuff like this, you got it? Now hands up!"  
  
They slowly put them up, Beast Boy turning to see if the real culprit had gotten away; he had. "Dude, we're part of the Teen Titans. Are you new or something? Raven, tell him!"  
  
She merely stared at the cop, speechless. She was clearly too shocked, or maybe pissed off, to do anything.  
  
The policeman just raised an eyebrow at the graffiti behind them. "Sure, you're the Teen Titans. Who happened to write 'Teen Titans Suck' on the wall?" He rolled his eyes. "I'm going to have to ask you to get in the car."  
  
"No way, man!" Beast Boy had lowered his hands by now, and was making frantic, frustrated gestures with his arms, trying to convince the man he was telling the truth.  
  
He listened skeptically as Beast Boy went on about how they were in the Teen Titans, and why wouldn't he believe them, and how much of a rookie was he, exactly, but finally just sighed and said, "Look, I don't want to make this harder than it is. Do you want to make me call backup?" When Beast Boy just glared, he brought the radio to his mouth. "I have two teenage vandals here, one of them is making a slight disturbance; he looks like a joker, seems to have covered his entire head in green spray-paint...." He chuckled a little.  
  
Raven's eyes flicked from the green spray can on the ground to Beast Boy's head; he caught her gaze and she raised an amused eyebrow.  
  
The cop lowered the radio. He looked at Raven. "Hey, I'm sure you don't want to get in any more trouble, right? Please, tell your boyfriend not to do this, it's not making this easy." She raised her eyebrows at this. The guy thought Beast Boy was her _boyfriend_? Apparently the policeman took her silence as defiance, because the next second her expression turned to indignation as the officer took her arm. He tugged a little harder when she wouldn't move, and her eyes turned red. She used her powers to sweep him into the air rather violently, and growled, "Don't. Touch. Me."  
  
He pressed anxiously against the wall of the black bubble and nearly whimpered in fear. Raven ignored Beast Boy's yell. She took a step toward the man, her eyes still glowing red under her hood, when Robin suddenly jumped in front of her from the roof above. "What's going on?" She gasped, and the glow in her eyes faded. The bubble of black energy disappeared in a moment, and the officer landed heavily into the rather squishy green arms of an octopus. Robin looked behind to Beast Boy and repeated, "What's going on?"  
  
Beast Boy turned human again (accidentally dropping the policeman) and shrugged, but he looked rather shocked. "The guy didn't believe we were part of the Teen Titans, he thought we were like, vandals or something! He took her arm and she went all uh, angry...." He looked worriedly at Raven.  
  
Robin turned to the policeman, now sitting limply on the ground against the graffiti-covered wall. "Are you alright sir?" The man only nodded, and Robin helped him up. The man walked nervously to his police car, sneaking scared glances behind him. He had wet green paint on the back of his jacket.  
  
Raven blinked. "I...I'm sorry. I don't know why I snapped so quickly.... I guess I'm tired. I'd better go." She rose into the air and glided in the direction of home, Robin and Beast Boy left staring after her.  
  
"I'm going after her." Beast Boy took off as a bird. He trailed behind her in the sky, and finally caught up to her as she landed on the roof of the Titans Tower. "Raven!"  
  
She turned. "Beast Boy, you should be out patrolling. Now you've left only the three of them to do it."  
  
"We need to talk. What happened back there?"  
  
Raven passed a hand over her forehead. "It was nothing. I'm tired, and I lost control for a second. I just haven't gotten enough meditation in lately. Can we leave it at that, please?"  
  
"I want to help, Rae! We all do. We care about you; we don't want anything to happen to you, okay? Understand that." He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she brushed it off.  
  
"I know you want to help, but you can't, and you don't need to. Let it go. I'm fine, and it's not going to happen again!" She turned to leave, and then paused. "But...thanks."  
  
He gave her a small smile, but it faltered slightly with worry. "No problem. Remember, I'm here...we're all here for you." She weakly returned the smile and entered the tower, leaving Beast Boy staring after her for the second time that night.

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Final Author's note: You know the drill. Review and tell me what you thought of the chapter- if you'd like to make suggestions, please do, I'll do my best to fit them in; maybe I'll make an entirely new chapter from them like I did with this one! Oh, also- I got cable again for a WHOLE WEEK! (Lisa cheers) So now I get to watch some more Teen Titans! I'll probably cry when it ends next Sunday. Waaah! Oh yeah, and please forgive Bob the policeman, he's a rookie who'd never seen the Titans. Okay, so once again, indulge my new addiction and review! 


	5. The Poem Book

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. Also, I don't own the Teen Titans theme song. Please don't sue.  
  
Review Replies: (Nods to Lain the Fluff-Master) Oops, you're right. I was afraid that would happen... I've edited the story, so that she isn't -quite- so mean. Will that be good? She doesn't slam him against the wall anymore, just scares him a bit. Oddly enough, I can't find your review now; though I'm absolutely sure I read it... weird. Also, I hope you don't mind I used your "one man SWAT team" comment, but it was just too good to pass up! LiLbLoNdAyBaRbAy, thanks for the idea! I don't think I'm going to use it, because the Robin/Star thing has been handled in this chapter, as you'll see, and I think I've got the BB/Raven thing planned out. (Sort of). But thank you; and people, read her story! Anyway, thank you Just another Guy, Darkfire (Yes, a Yankees hater!), Tsukasa//SIGN, LiLbLoNdAyBaRbAy, DragonWriter2, Dark (Yes, cookies!), and Lain the Fluff-Master.  
  
Author's Note: This is actually the first idea that came to mind for my story, but I didn't write it. It's SO dumb and pointless (sounds like all my other chapters, really), and I honestly don't know where the heck it came from, I just had the song stuck in my head one day and I thought of this! Yes, I KNOW Raven didn't write the Teen Titans theme song, all the credit goes to Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura. I changed some of it, but the full, correct lyrics are displayed at the bottom. Hope you like this chapter!  
  
Timeline: Mid-September, like, two weeks after Chapter Four, "Green Spray- paint".  
  
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Chapter Five: Poems  
  
"Did you hear about Robin and Star?" Beast Boy sauntered into the room and sat next to Raven on the couch. She politely closed the small book she was writing in to look at him.  
  
"What about them?"  
  
"They've finally gotten together. Starfire made the first move, because Robin was too much of an idiot to tell her himself." He snorted. "He's like, the one-man SWAT team, but mention Star and he turns to jelly! It was pretty funny actually. They're making out on the roof right now."  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "And you would know this how...?"  
  
He had the decency to blush guiltily. "Me and Cyborg were spying on them." At her look, he got defensive. "Hey, don't even try to tell me you weren't interested in what happened to the two of them, okay? We couldn't resist!"  
  
Raven rolled her eyes. "Just don't do it again, okay? Everyone deserves their privacy."  
  
"Yeah, fine. Hey, do you mind if I play a videogame here?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Hey! I don't have anything else to do... well, except spy on Rob and Starfire, but I have the feeling you wouldn't like that much." He thought for a moment. "What if I put it on mute?"  
  
She tilted her head. "You can do that?"  
  
"Sure! You just press this little button, see?"  
  
"So you mean all this time, when you guys have barged into the room and disrupted everything with those annoying beeps and buzzes, you could have put it on mute?"  
  
"Um... yes?" He blinked at her nervously, and she sighed.  
  
"Fine, just put it on mute." He sighed in obvious relief.  
  
"Thanks, Rae."  
  
There was close to a half hour of peaceful silence, the tapping of buttons and scribbling of a pen barely noticeable. Then in a moment, it was broken.  
  
"Wahoo! I won, oh yeah, go Beast Boy..." Beast Boy had jumped up onto the arm of the couch and was doing a small victory dance.  
  
Startled, Raven jumped and consequentially made a huge scratch across the page with her pen. She paused to look up from scribbling in her small journal to tell him that though she appreciated the kind gesture of putting his game on mute, this defeated the purpose a bit. Before she could, however-  
  
"Go Beast Boy, it's your birthday- ah!" He slipped and fell forward onto Raven. Not good, was the first thought that jumped into his mind. Their faces were now inches apart, and both their eyes were wide from surprise. He stared into hers and suddenly had the urge to kiss her.  
  
So he did.  
  
After he had turned into a dog, of course. "Agh, Beast Boy, get off!" She tried to fight off the slobbery dog kisses, pushing at the green dog with one hand while holding the journal and pen in the other. "Ew!" She succeeded, and he rolled off, laughing, turning to human in mid-roll. "WHAT was that for?"  
  
He grinned up at her from the floor and shrugged. "I don't know, it seemed like it would be funny... and it was! I- ow..." He rubbed his head where she had hit him with the small book she'd been writing in. He looked down and spotted the source of his discomfort. "Say, what's this?"  
  
"Give it to me, it's mine."  
  
"Oh, really? Well now it's mine..." He grabbed the little book and leapt up before she could take it. He danced around the room, artfully dodging her and random objects thrown at him, and opened the book. He pretended to read, "Dear Diary, Beast Boy is SO CUTE! And his tofu is the best food in the world..." Then he frowned as he actually took a look at the page. He flipped through random pages. "Hey, this isn't a diary, these are poems! You write poems? Geez, these are depressing..." By now Raven had gotten a hold of the top of the book, and was tugging at it.  
  
"Beast Boy, remember how I said a little while ago that everyone is entitled to their own privacy? Well this is a perfect example..." He was busy reading, so he didn't see her eyes flash red. She closed them and shook her head suddenly, and when she opened her eyes they were back to their normal, calm blue-violet.  
  
"I don't know why you don't want anyone reading them. I said they were depressing, not bad!" He managed to pull the book free from her grasp and plopped upside down onto the couch, still flipping pages. "Hey, this one mentions us!" He was reading from it now. "When there's trouble you know who to call  
  
From their tower, they can see it all  
  
With their superpowers they unite  
  
Never met a villain that they liked  
  
When there's evil on the attack,  
  
You can rest knowing they got your back,  
  
'Cause when the world needs heroes on patrol  
  
Teen Titans Go!  
  
They've got the bad guys on the run  
  
They never stop until the job gets done  
  
'Cause when the world is losing all control  
  
Teen Titans Go!  
  
If your heart is black you better watch out  
  
You cannot escape the team  
  
When they catch you there won't be any doubt  
  
You've been beaten by the teens." He laughed. "Hey, this is cool! I didn't think you wrote poems like this!"  
  
Now she finally managed to snatch the journal from his hands. "I normally don't. It's stupid; it doesn't even deserve to be called a poem. It's just a rhyme. I don't even know why I wrote it, it was a spur of the moment thing. Forget about it."  
  
Beast Boy grinned. "No, no! I even just thought of a tune. You know how Robin's little communicator has that tune? (A/N: I love that!) Well, that's what it could be!"  
  
"You're kidding me."  
  
"No, seriously!" Now he wriggled so that he was sitting right side up. "It could be like, the Titans theme song!" He hummed the little snippet of a tune, then sang the words to it. "With their superpowers they unite..." He couldn't seem to remember the rest of the words, so he continued with, "Da da da da da da la de da!" Raven raised her eyebrows. He looked at her and asked, "Is my voice that horrible?" She looked away, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Obviously pleased he'd gotten her to nearly laugh, he said good-naturedly, "Oh well. It's true. But hey, we could hire singers or something! And then we'd have our own theme song, and..." He was making karate chops in the air, now humming horribly off tune.  
  
"Beast Boy, much as that idea appeals to me- which is not a lot- we aren't some lame spy movie, so lose the karate moves. That's what Robin does, and frankly, it creeps me out a little when you do it. Secondly, PLEASE stop humming. I thought you had better than average hearing, but obviously you must be deaf."  
  
Beast Boy feigned hurt, but was obviously amused. "That's cold, Rae. I should cut you out of the millions of dollars that will come from selling all the CDs. But since I'm such a nice guy, I won't. But only if you let me look at that poem book thing again."  
  
"No."  
  
"Aw, come on! Let me just see the one song, I can't remember the words!"  
  
"It's not my problem you can't remember a simple rhyme."  
  
"I can too!" He snatched the book from her hands. "Just not this one."  
  
Raven reached half-heartedly toward the book. "As long as you don't read the other ones..."  
  
Beast Boy held up three fingers. "Scout's honor! Well, I was never a scout, but you get the point..." He shrugged and looked down at the page again. He grinned. "Heh, what I really like is how you used Robin's phrase-"  
  
"Guys, there's a robbery going on right now! Titans, GO!"  
  
Beast Boy looked from the book, to Raven, to where Robin's voice had come, and then back to the book again. "Whoa, was that timing really bizarre, or what?"  
  
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§  
  
Teen Titans Theme Song  
  
When there's trouble you know who to call  
  
Teen Titans!  
  
From their tower, they can see it all  
  
Teen Titans!  
  
When there's evil on the attack  
  
You can rest knowing they got your back  
  
Cuz when the world needs heroes on patrol  
  
Teen Titans GO!  
  
With their superpowers they unite  
  
Teen Titans!  
  
Never met a villain that they liked  
  
Teen Titans!  
  
They've got the bad guys on the run  
  
They never stop 'till the job gets done  
  
Cuz when the world is losin' all control  
  
Teen Titans GO!  
  
Teen Titans GO!  
  
If your heart is black you better watch out  
  
You cannot escape the team  
  
When they catch you there won't be any doubt  
  
You've been beaten by the teens  
  
beaten by the teens  
  
T-E-E-N! T-I-T-A-N-S! TEEN TITANS! LET'S GO!  
  
T-E-E-N! T-I-T-A-N-S! TEEN TITANS! LET'S GO!  
  
T-E-E-N! T-I-T-A-N-S! TEEN TITANS! LET'S GO!  
  
T-E-E-N! T-I-T-A-N-S! TEEN TITANS! LET'S GO!  
  
* (repeat)  
  
Teen Titans GO!  
  
Teen Titans GO!  
  
One, two, three, four, GO!  
  
Teen Titans!  
  
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§  
  
Final Author's Note: Okay, there it is. God, I'm sleepy. I'm afraid the updates may not be as quick from now on, because school is starting up. I'm going to cry. Anyone want to run away to Hawaii with me, therefore skipping school and/or other extremely unpleasant activities that come along with the end of vacation? If you review, I'll bring you with me. 


	6. Sleep

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. This is where I add something witty in, but right now I'm fresh out. Sorry.  
  
Review Replies: Hey guys, sorry if I forgot to reply in e-mail to some of you, if you want to actually know why I whine a lot in the final author's note... Actually, I'm not entirely sure who the Dodgers are... I'm just a Red Sox fan! Lol. Also, speaking of, I just saw 'Terra' for the first time, and I don't see why everybody likes her so much... she's a little... boring, no offense to Terra fans. And paranoid as well. Uncanny R-Man, I love you! Wait, I told you that... I did read your story, but my computer has been messed and didn't let me review it, so let me just say here I like it so much! ^.^ Dana1313, I mentioned why I couldn't update at school at the bottom of this chapter, and I'm glad I made you laugh! Calisto, if I knew how to get it on CD, I'd have it right now! It's so addictive... Wow, Tabris J, thanks! I plan on reading your stories soon, but again, I haven't had much time to read... RandomHero88, let me just say thank you for reviewing and I love your name! Hee. Einvine, I believe the end of this chapter is a little fluffy (I hope). Well... wow, I responded personally to everyone here! Cool! Anyway, thanks guys.  
  
Author's Note: Hey. I'm so happy, I watched Teen Titans! I missed it so much! Also, I took three different, completely separate personality quizzes that all were on "What personality disorder do you have?" I got the same answer for every one. Apparently, if I did indeed have a personality disorder, I'd be 'avoidant'. Nice. I hunger for friendship, but the anxiety is too strong. So pretty please, help boost my self-esteem by REVIEWING! Or, give me constructive criticism, therefore improving my writing, therefore ensuring more good reviews in the future! So it's like, long-term self-esteem-boosting. Everybody wins.  
  
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Chapter Six: Sweet Dreams  
  
"Star, I know you aren't trying to get the in the front seat of my baby."  
  
"Oh, but I do want to see the 'windshield wipers' dance again!"  
  
"I've told you before, and I'll tell you again, you are not going to-"  
  
"Guys, we've got to go! Starfire, how about I sit in the front seat this time?"  
  
Starfire turned and smiled sweetly at Robin. "Of course, Robin!"  
  
He gave a rather goofy grin. "Thanks Star." When she gave him a small peck on the cheek, he couldn't help blushing. He looked at the other Titans, not knowing they already knew about him and Starfire. He cleared his throat. "Uh..."  
  
Cyborg shook his head. "Just get in the car man; we have a bad guy to lock up, remember?" Still, he was grinning.  
  
Robin opened the back door for Starfire and she slid in next to Raven, who was now in the middle. He shut the door and then opened the passenger's door and sat in the seat beside Cyborg.  
  
"Where to?"  
  
"Downtown. Overload's loose."  
  
Cyborg, who had been carefully pulling onto the street, nearly steered into the path of an oncoming car. "WHAT? I thought we put that freak in jail! Man, I am SO parking my baby at least a thousand yards away from wherever we're fighting him."  
  
Raven spoke up from the backseat. "At least we know how to beat him. This should be pretty simple."  
  
"Yeah, I guess..."  
  
The rest of the short car ride was spent on discussing increasingly irrational ideas about how Overload might have escaped, including, but not limited to, a gang of Martians, a secret government conspiracy, and the living dead breaking him out (most were courtesy of Beast Boy, of course).  
  
Cyborg screeched to a stop as they spotted something glowing in the street ahead. The Titans sprang out of the car and found Overload heading toward the nearest electronics store. "Playtime's over, Overload!"  
  
Overload turned to face them. "The Teen Titans... should have known you would come!"  
  
They were faced off, and they prepared to fight. Only Raven noticed his focus suddenly divert to something behind them.  
  
She turned her head and her gaze quickly fell on a walking boy, his head ducked down. He obviously hadn't seen them, his entire attention devoted to an electronic game in his hands. This must have been what had caught Overload's attention, and her eyes grew wide as she realized what could happen to the boy if he got even an indirect hit from the villain's electric energy. He probably couldn't withstand it like the Titans with their powers could. There wasn't even enough time to shout, "Look out!", let alone help him with her powers. She dove and pushed him out of the way of a huge bolt of electricity; unfortunately, it caught her instead.  
  
Meant to absorb energy from the electronic device, it was now charging Raven with electricity, and her entire body arched in pain. Her eyes glowed white and her mouth opened to scream, but nothing came out. She was lifted into the air by the steady stream of energy.  
  
For a moment all the Titans were stopped cold in shock. Cyborg suddenly cursed and sprinted full speed across the road, stooping low at the last possible second and slamming his shoulder full force into a fire hydrant. The water shot out and engulfed Overload. Starfire dashed over in time to catch Raven's limp form in her arms. "Raven! Raven, friend, please answer me!"  
  
"Crud!" exclaimed Beast Boy. Worry crept into his voice as he began, "Is she...?" All the Titans were gathered around now, all dripping wet from the water.  
  
Robin knelt by her side. Reaching over, he felt her wrist. After a moment, he gave the others a small, relieved smile. "There's a pulse." They all let out a sigh of relief they hadn't realized they had been holding. Robin looked to Cyborg. "Cy? Think you could check her over?"  
  
Cyborg held up his arm. He waited a moment then said, "My biosensors say that she's hurt, but there's no serious or permanent damage. Rae's gonna be just fine."  
  
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§  
  
Raven opened her eyes into slits. She had a headache that was threatening to split a large chasm open in her head, and... there was a large green thing in front of her face.  
  
She would have yelled, but was too tired. "Mmmrph...meh," was all she could manage. Blinking blearily, she realized it was only Beast Boy. Her gaze cleared enough that she could focus on his face, which now seemed to register that she was awake.  
  
"Hey, you're awake!"  
  
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," she muttered. Shaking her head, she asked, "Is the kid okay?"  
  
He blinked. "Kid? Oh! Yeah, he was fine. He thought it was pretty cool, being saved by you. He asked for our autographs and stuff. We gave him ours and said we'd give him yours after you woke up. Um, that is okay, right?"  
  
She rolled her head to the side to see him better. "No, because it's so much trouble to write my name on a piece of paper," she said sarcastically.  
  
He laughed. "Okay, sorry! Anyway, I really am glad you're awake. For a second there, I- we were afraid- well, we thought you might have been uh, really hurt."  
  
Raven couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth turn up at his suddenly somber face. It really was nice to know her friends cared. "Well, I'm not. How long was I unconscious for, anyway?"  
  
"Not too long... you were unconscious all afternoon and almost all night; it's like, three in the morning right now."  
  
She frowned. "What are you doing here then?"  
  
He got a scared look on his face. "Oh, yeah! Sorry, I know we aren't supposed to be in your room..."  
  
"No, I mean what are you doing here awake at 3 AM?"  
  
"Oooh, I was checking up on you. I couldn't sleep, so I figured I could bug you if you were awake!"  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Wonderful to know my friends only care enough to check on me for the sake of insomnia and annoying me with corny jokes."  
  
"Well, what are friends... oh shoot! The others don't know you're awake!" Before she could even say a word, a green cheetah was jetting out of the room. He was back less than a minute later, followed by an elated Starfire and an extremely sleepy Cyborg and Robin.  
  
"Raven! You are awake! This is wonderful, we must celebrate!"  
  
Robin gave a little smile. "Star, I think she might need a little more rest before we do that..." He turned to Raven. "Good to see you're okay. We were all pretty worried."  
  
"How did you guys beat him?"  
  
Cyborg puffed up his chest. "I saved you! I totally soaked him by slamming into a fire hydrant with my amazing strength!"  
  
Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Whatever dude, you are so full of it!"  
  
Cyborg buffed his knuckles against his chest. "Yeah, full of awe at my own awsomeness!" He paused. "Is that a word?"  
  
Raven shook her head. "Thanks, Cyborg." She stifled a yawn, but unfortunately Robin noticed.  
  
"Oh, sorry Raven. We'd better let you get back to sleep. Come on, guys." He began to herd the others out of the room despite her protests.  
  
"Really, it's okay..." None of the Titans saw the slightly panicked look on her face.  
  
"Later, Rae!"  
  
"Get your rest!"  
  
"We shall celebrate later!"  
  
"Sweet dreams!"  
  
"Right," Raven sighed, laying her head on the pillow. She grimaced. "Sweet dreams..."  
  
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§  
  
An hour later, Beast Boy crept slowly down the hallway. He wanted to check on Raven... just to make sure. He didn't want that feeling again, the feeling of all his organs dropping through the floor. It was the same feeling he got when any of the Titans got hurt, except more so. Peeking through the door they had left open, just in case, he saw Raven quickly close her eyes. Grinning, he stepped through. "I guess I'm not the only one who can't sleep..."  
  
Raven slowly opened one eye. Darn, he knew she was awake. "How'd you know?"  
  
"You closed your eyes too late. Are you going to tell me why you can't sleep?"  
  
She sighed and sat up a little. "Nightmares."  
  
Beast Boy wrinkled his nose. "Blah, nightmares suck. Want some company?" He said this last part hopefully. She nodded her head, and he sat on the end of her bed rather nervously. He cleared his throat. "So, you want to tell me about the nightmares?"  
  
"No, not really."  
  
"Um, okay... so, what's up?"  
  
"Nothing. I've been staring at the ceiling for who knows how long, trying not to go to sleep. What about you?"  
  
"I was... thinking about stuff. I still couldn't sleep."  
  
The tiniest smirk appeared on her face. "You were thinking? This I've got to hear."  
  
"Hey! Why does everybody make cracks at my brain?"  
  
"Beast Boy, you don't have a brain." He folded his arms and sulked. "Don't be such a baby... so tell me what you were thinking about."  
  
His face flushed a little. He thought about Cyborg's advice from the day before. Deciding to take it in a more roundabout way, he asked, "Rae, do you like anyone in the Teen Titans?"  
  
She frowned. "Beast Boy, you know you guys are my best friends..."  
  
"No, I mean... in the other way."  
  
"Oh, well I am madly in love with Starfire." Seeing the look on his face, she raised an eyebrow. "I'm joking. What made you ask that, anyway?"  
  
Beast Boy secretly thanked the darkness for hiding his flaming cheeks. "Uh, well... You didn't seem too happy for Robin and Star, is all," he quickly lied.  
  
"You think I like Robin?" she asked incredulously. If there was the lightest bit of disappointment in her voice, Beast Boy didn't notice it. "Don't worry. You guys are like sisters to me."  
  
"You do mean sister and brothers, right?"  
  
The innocent look on her face was clearly only a façade. "It must have been a slip of the tongue... all the spandex and purple must have distracted me."  
  
His mouth went slack. "Rae, you're taking cheap shots at other people's... preferences!"  
  
"Big word, Beast Boy."  
  
"Dude! I'm just worried about your health. I think you're spending way too much time with me! I'm starting to rub off on you."  
  
"Gods forbid... You'd better get out now, before I start turning green." He couldn't tell whether she was serious, and sort of half got up, unsure. "Again, I'm joking. I want you to stay."  
  
His ears perked up. "Really?"  
  
Realizing what she had said, she blinked a few times. "Uh, well..."  
  
"Well, you're having nightmares, right? Maybe if I stay just until you fall asleep... you wouldn't have them? I'd leave right after."  
  
Raven tilted her head. "Thanks, Beast Boy."  
  
He gave her grin, and told her, "No problem." Morphing into a small cat, he slinked up the covers and curled up on her pillow. Raven arched an eyebrow at the cat, but didn't say anything. Instead, she just shut her eyes and sighed, falling asleep.  
  
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§  
  
At sunrise, light from a window fell onto two figures in an otherwise dark room. One was a small green cat, now being cuddled by a sleeping girl. The cat slowly opened its eyes, one at a time. Its mouth opened wide, revealing glittering white teeth, and then snapped it shut again. Squirming out of the girl's arms rather reluctantly, it stretched languidly on the pillow. Giving the sleeping girl one last look and an affectionate lick on the forehead, it hopped off the bed and ambled to the doorway, its shape growing into human form as it exited.  
  
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Final Author's Note: Is that fluffy enough? My definition of 'fluffy' may vary from yours, but I'm hoping that last part was good enough... I'm so sorry it took a week to update! I can't update at school because we only have a forty-five minute computer class on Mondays, and the room is set up so that all the screens point toward the center of the room, so the teacher can see what we're all doing just by turning round. Also, the teachers have been giving loads of homework, and I'm really, really slow...forgive me! Also we have this stupid giant project, so I may only be updating once a week on weekends. Seriously though, I'll try REALLY hard to do it more. Don't be too mad if this chapter isn't that good, I've kinda got some stuff on my mind...like hurling every time I think of the project. Yuck. Anyway, enough of my whining! Review and tell me what you think of this chapter, I need some reviews to cheer me up! But don't hesitate to correct me on stuff! 


	7. Mirror, Mirror

_Disclaimer_: Teen Titans belongs to Glen Murakami. I disclaim them!

_Review Replies_:  
**Change-of-Heart2** – there is definitely going to be at least a little romance by the end of this story.  
**Macabeak** – I'm so happy you like it! And that you left reviews for other chapters! I love that.  
**dana1313** – Right back atcha.  
**The Mad shoe** – What an interesting name! Also, thanks!  
**Darkfire** – Thank you for the roses! Heh, I'll take any color.  
**SxStrngSamurai13** – Thank you!  
**Lain the Fluff-master** – I'm don't know if it's good that your teeth have fallen out, but I'll take it as a compliment.  
**Weeble Wobble Chic** – I'm glad you thought it was fluffy!  
**Rukato86** – Iit's nice to know I actually wrote something funny!  
**Venusgurl5 –** Aww, thanks.  
**Dark** – Ack, now you've got _me _thinking about it. ((_holds head_))

_Author's Note_: Yes. The infamous mirror. Adored as a plot device by many – including me. No, I am not ashamed to admit it. It's overused, overdone, everyone's sick of it, and dammit, I am going to use it and use it proudly. Except I might hang my head in shame every now and then if you glare at me hard enough.

******  
**

******Closer**

Chapter Seven: _Mirror, Mirror_

"Check her again!" Beast Boy said, tapping Cyborg's arm impatiently.

Cyborg shook Beast Boy off. "Man, I've checked her like, ten times just this afternoon. I don't know what's wrong with her, okay? The biosensors say that everything's fine."

Beast Boy was clearly attempting to keep his voice steady, but it began to rise as he said, "The biosensors are wrong. Maybe she was all fine when she woke up, but when you go to sleep and haven't woken up for over two days, I think that kind of screams _not _fine."

Robin put a calming hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. "We're all worried too, but there's nothing we can do at this point. Maybe she just...doesn't want to wake up right now."

He frowned at Robin. "Dude. _Doesn't want to wake up_? Like, we all need sleep, but forty-eight hours is pushing it, even for me."

Starfire sighed, gazing at Raven's inert form. "If we could only ask her why she does not awaken! This is extremely –"

Beast Boy's eyes traveled to the dresser, upon which an elaborate hand mirror lay face down. "I think we do have a way to ask her..."

Cyborg followed his friend's gaze, and his face quickly paled. He began backing up with his hands spread in front of him, shaking his head. "You're not serious. _You're not serious._ No way man, NO WAY!"

Starfire was puzzled as she looked from Beast Boy to Cyborg, who was now making cross gestures with his fingers in what she had thought was a way to ward off vampires. Perhaps she had been mistaken, she thought. "Cyborg, what is the matter? Beast Boy says he has a way to communicate with Raven, and yet you are upset?"

Beast Boy gulped. "Cy, I know the mirror is freaky, but it's the only way!"

Cyborg continued backing up until his back hit the wall. "Come on, B! Don't you remember the last time? That mirror is just...no."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "What mirror? What the hell are you talking about? What's wrong with the mirror?"

Both ignored him. Instead, Beast Boy stepped toward Cyborg. "_Duh_, I remember. But, I mean, it wasn't all bad, right? Come on, remember the pink one?"

"Yeah, the pink one, good times. Oh, and remember the _giant red guy who tried to kill us_?"

"Pink what?" asked Starfire, still quite bemused.

"Here, I'm going in. You don't have to come with me, but I've gotta know what's going on!" With Robin and Starfire still looking on, bewildered, Beast Boy picked up the mirror.

Cyborg grabbed his wrist. "Hold on! If you don't come out in fifteen minutes...we'll follow and make sure everything's okay," he told Beast Boy reluctantly.

Beast Boy gave him a grateful grin. "Thanks, Cy. You're a real frie-EEEEND!" His sentence ended in a shriek as a huge black hand reached out and grabbed him, pulling him into the frame and leaving the mirror to fall onto the carpet with a loud _thump_.

Robin and Starfire gaped at the mirror, flabbergasted.

Cyborg smacked his forehead with a heavy sigh. "He's nuts for her."

* * *

Beast Boy stood on a huge slab of rock in the middle of space. "Aw, man..." He stared up at the red stars. "_So_ creepy." Seeing larger rocks align themselves into a pathway, he started forward. 

"_Turn back_!"

He nearly fell of the edge of the rock when he recognized the seemingly innocent birds that called out to him. "Augh! No!" Covering his head in case they decided to attack, he ran blindly away. He heard flapping behind him, and tiny beaks began to peck at his back. "Get away! Get away!"

Suddenly, he tripped and landed on...grass? Looking carefully up, he brightened. "Thank God – it's air freshener land! I'm safe!" He stood and brushed himself off, gazing at the pink pastures. They were, at first glace, deserted. At second glance, they were still deserted. "Uh...Raven?" Much to Beast Boy's chagrin, there was no one to be found. He searched high and low, wondering if her alternate selves were allowed to take vacations. "Happy? You here?

Spotting an arch up ahead, he ran through and found the familiar rock pathway again. A second archway some distance away brought him to Timid's world. He saw a gray figure that he took to be Timid, but as he headed toward her, enormous concrete walls shot up from the ground. "Oh, come on!"

He saw the ends of a gray cloak flit around the corner. "Raven!" He turned into an owl and attempted to soar over the maze wall, only to be foiled by painful blue sparks that forced him to drop to the ground again. Wincing, he got to his feet and, for lack of a better plan, jogged randomly through the maze, hoping to run into her by chance.

He did. Literally. "Oof!"

A hesitant hand helped him up, and then pulled away shyly. "I'm sorry...Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why were you running away?"

Timid turned away. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to follow...I knew you would want to fight."

He gave her a bewildered look. "Why would I want to fight with you?"

She knit her brows. "Not with me...with him." Biting her lip, she looked about worriedly. "I'm late; they'll be mad at me. I'll have to show you the way...you can't stay stuck here. Just don't fight, please." With that, she sped silently through the maze. Beast Boy followed, becoming more anxious by the second.

"Um, Raven...Do you have any idea why you haven't woken up?"

She simply said, "Him." Well, he thought, that was...ominous. Reaching the end of the maze, she turned to him. Whispering, she told him, "Brave killed it beforehand. If you make too much noise, though, you'll wake it up again. Please, let's be very quiet."

He gaped at the two-faced, sword-wielding creature lying motionless on the ground. Oh, he remembered this thing. Shuddering, he was more than happy to keep quiet. The two crept around the body and continued to walk along the path. "Where's Brave?"

"She's already there." Timid seemed even more nervous than usual. She unconsciously slipped her hand into his and tightened her grip. When Beast Boy glanced down at their linked hands, she jumped and pulled away. "I'm sorry!"

"Hey, it's okay!" He took her hand again. It wasn't as if it was going to happen anytime soon with the real Raven, anyway. "Are you nervous about something? Uh – I mean, are you _especially_ nervous about something...in particular?"

She bit her lip. "I'm afraid..."

"Of what?"

"Of that."

Spinning around, his eyes grew wide. There were all the of the differently cloaked Ravens he had been looking for - they were battling a colossal red demon with four yellow eyes who, Beast Boy thought with a sinking heart, looked all too familiar. The Ravens looked weary and several stopped to catch their breath as he watched. Nevertheless, they deftly managed to dodge the powerful gold bolts of energy that shot from the demon's eyes. Someone counted down from three, and with a sudden burst of power, all of the Ravens blasted it at the same time, and it fell back off the edge.

Beast Boy blinked. "That was quick." He gaped when he saw the dark-blue-cloaked Raven jog up to him. "Hey! Why aren't you asleep? You're not one of the...other Ravens, are you? And...from the way you're looking at me, I'm guessing Pissed-Off Raven."

She scowled at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see what was wrong! You've been asleep for two days!"

Raven seemed mildly surprised. "That long?" She looked grim and gestured at the spot that the she and the demon had just been battling. "I've been a little busy. He's been gaining strength. He took advantage of my weakness to try and take over, and it's taken all my power just to be on the defensive; I can't wake up."

"Oh...how did you get in here though? I just saw you asleep like, five minutes ago! Okay, seriously, are you the real Raven or not?"

"This is my dream self."

He curiously poked her. "But you're solid."

"I'm as real as my mind makes me." She began to look agitated. "You should get out, and soon." She turned to Timid. "I take it you didn't find Gross?"

"No," a harsh voice said. The three turned to see Brave stalking toward them, dragging an orange-clad Raven by the ear. "I found her hiding out by Sad's domain." She continued muttering indistinctly under her breath, though she punctuated each sentence with audible words that should not be repeated in polite company. Brave suddenly rounded on the other Raven, yanking on her ear so hard it made Beast Boy wince in sympathy. "Even Timid didn't run off, and she's...Timid! But you, you just..."

"Tried to save my own butt?"

"Deserted us! Running away will only delay your eventual destruction! Once he wipes us out, it'll be the end of you, too. We only have a little time to recover. He'll be back soon."

Beast Boy was looking around, slightly perplexed. "You guys just beat him!"

Another Raven walked up; she was dressed in yellow. "Of course we didn't beat him; we just knocked him off a cliff."

He laughed. "Unless he can fly, that usually means he's beaten."

The yellow Raven pushed her glasses up. "Not in this place. What goes down, must come up. Or down again. Or from the side. Wherever. At any rate, he'll be back shortly, and we still have no way to defeat him."

He was thoroughly confused now. "Why don't you guys just join together like you did last time?"

The normal Raven answered him. "He's much stronger this time...and I'm weaker. Overload's attack sapped my strength – and this isn't even my actual body. Not only will it be harder to join all of my selves, I won't be as powerful. I don't know if I can afford to do it. It's all I can do to be on the defense! I haven't wanted to risk it yet. But...it looks like it's going to be my only choice."

He poked her again. "Why shouldn't your dream self be just as good?"

She sighed. Resting her hand on his shoulder, he started as the arm become incorporeal and passed right through his arm. "I said I'm as real as my mind allows me to be, but it's still not as real as my physical body. I don't think I can win this one. Now...you have to go."

Beast Boy looked away. This was a nightmare. He'd thought he'd come in, kindly ask Happy or another nice emotion why they weren't awake yet, and get Raven to wake up. Instead, she was acting as if she was about to die.

He froze. If there wasn't enough of _her_ to beat that demon..."What if I helped?"

She shook her head immediately. "He's too-"

"Powerful, yeah. Been there, done that. There's no animal big or strong enough to beat that guy. But what if you did that merging thing, and I went in, too? There's noreal you here, but_ I'm_ real!"

Raven seemed to process this, and then shook her head again resolutely. "There's no way that's happening, Beast Boy. It's insane. Our beings could permanently combine, or yours could be completely destroyed. There's no way to tell what could happen."

"It might _work_."

"It might not. No. I'm not risking your life."

At that moment, there was a roar. "Hatred shall rule!" All the Ravens spun. The massive demon dropped from the sky and landed with a crash, making the ground beneath their feet shudder. It towered to its full height.

Raven turned quickly to Beast Boy and hissed, "Get out, now. I'm going to unite my selves. That should give you enough time to get to the exit. If anything goes wrong and somehow he takes over – don't hesitate to do whatever's necessary to get rid of me. Now, go!" She shoved him with her powers toward the swirling portal from her mind.

Returning to the battle, she ordered the other Ravens to retreat from the demon. Backing away, she swiftly summoned them around her. They spun around in a colorful cyclone.

Beast Boy watched this with worry; the only thing he was sure of was that he was not leaving. He suddenly sprinted toward the twister of emotions. A voice shouted, "BB! What's going on?" He twisted around to see Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin running forward. He looked back and forth between Raven and his other teammates, then dove into the spinning circle.

"What did he just do?" yelled Robin. Cyborg ignored him. He ran and jumped in after Beast Boy, hoping to pull him out, and Robin and Starfire did the same.

Raven screamed, "No!" but it was too late to do anything. The ring continued to spin, creating a blur of white, blue, green, red and purple. In the end, the blur came into focus, revealing a white cloaked Raven that was twice the size of Trigon. She didn't hesitate. "Azerath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"

Black energy that seemed somehow to shimmer with color spilled from her eyes, mouth and hands. Trigon screamed in agony, and a white, purifying light consumed him. It faded to expose a small, red-cloaked girl. She pushed her hood back angrily. Instead of four red eyes, she had two deep purple ones. Raven absorbed her, red sparks flying as she did. Then she was engulfed in white light again, and collapsed.

* * *

Raven slowly opened her eyes. Her entire body ached. She was lying on hard ground, and had no idea why. Sitting up, she looked in wonder at the white cloak she wore. A quick glance at her surroundings told her that she was still in her mind. How did she get here? She felt so tired – Trigon. He'd nearly gotten loose because she'd been so weak. Then Beast Boy – 

Beast Boy! She shot to her feet, wobbling slightly. Her friends had fused with her as one. Her breathing quickened. What had happened to them?

"Beast Boy! Cyborg, Starfire! Robin!" Her voice wavered. "Where are you?"

Her echoes were her only reply.

* * *

_Final Author's Note_: Was that appropriately cliffy? Feel free to leave constructive criticism and any of your thoughts about this chapter. 


	8. Purple

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my eternal soul... um, or not. Which is to say, I don't own Teen Titans or Spider-Man, which I mention.  
  
Review Replies: Yayfuls! Change-of-Heart2, I'm gonna take a leap and guess those 'wows' were good. Lain the Fluff-Master, the air-freshener land thing was a nod to what Beast Boy first said when they got to Happy-Land in the episode 'Nevermore'. "Is this where air fresheners come from?" I loved that! AcidFox, I'm flattered you think they aren't out of character. SxStrngSamurai13, thanks!! Chamzi, I'm glad you caught the fact that Raven was pure! I kinda made it obvious, but usually I would take a while to catch on... DarkBird2, just, wow... I'm your favorite author? I could die happy right now... N.C. PsyChick, I really liked how you put that review, lol! RavenForever, I don't mind pushy, it makes me happy! At least in this case. The Mad shoe, updating right now! Or, well, obviously... just, never mind. Thorn on a Rose, yay, and thank you! Darkfire, love the chocolate! AnimeFreakazoidX, not to give anything away, but... let's just say you probably won't be disappointed. Kestra, thanks! Btw, the 'one-man SWAT team' comment came from Lain the Fluff-Master, I can't take the credit (as much as I would like to...). Jimaine, oh no! I didn't really think about Cyborg, and now I am, and I'm going to be all worried I will stink at writing him from now on... argh. But thanks! Macabeak: CLEAR! Macabeak's revived! Shadow 929, welcome to my story, I'm glad you like it! Anyway, thanks everyone!  
  
Author's Note: I'm SO SORRY I took so long; it's been like, over two weeks now! God, my civics project has been giving me stomachaches all last week, and I had to work on it like, every day and I stayed up until 3 am on Sunday still! I suck so much... anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter, because it took long enough to get up, didn't it? Lol.   
  
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Chapter Eight: Purple Strawberries  
  
He felt numb. He really should open his eyes. But when he tried, they felt so heavy... he left them closed. Just five more minutes... The grass was so comfortable!  
  
Wait...the grass?  
  
His eyes reluctantly fluttered open. His head was tilted to the side, and there was someone in his peripheral vision wearing a light purple cloak and staring dreamily at the clouds. He tried to move his head to see better, and then involuntarily let out a groan. His head felt heavy, as if it didn't belong to him. The figure's head whipped around and then whoever it was stood up and jogged over to his side.  
  
"Beast Boy?" He realized he had closed his eyes again, and he didn't bother to open them. He heard the footsteps quicken more as they approached, and someone kneeling in the grass beside him. A knuckle rapped at his forehead. "Beast Boy!"  
  
He muttered an incoherent, "blurgh."  
  
"I'll give you a kiss if you wake up. Or give you a kiss if you don't, if you prefer threats."  
  
His eyes shot open. "Huh?" He found himself staring into the worried purple gaze of what was obviously one of Raven's emotions. Her expression turned into one of relief, and she began to giggle at his sudden reaction. Moaning, he pulled himself up. He felt as if he should be much lighter, or at least sharing this huge burden of a body with someone else. Looking at her laughing face, he asked, "Are you Happy in disguise or something? Because last time I saw her, she was pink."  
  
She bit her lip to keep from giggling harder. "No, I'm not Happy! Silly."  
  
"Yeah, that's me. Silly, because you seem to be happy, so I assumed you were, well, Happy. Obviously that idea is silly," he said sarcastically.  
  
"Well of course I'm happy! You're not dead! But I'm not her, I'm- omigosh!"  
  
He had collapsed back on the ground. He looked back at her and lifted an eyebrow. "You're 'omigosh'?"  
  
"No, but you're hurt!"  
  
"Naw, I'm just tired..." She ignored any of his protests and hastily hoisted him up, letting him lean heavily on her shoulder as they began to walk. "What are you doing? I'm too heavy for you-"  
  
"Shush, I'm taking you to the tree." She smiled up at him. "It's a very good tree, great for resting under. Lazy even visits sometimes just to sleep under it. I don't see why she can't just keep to her own domain, it's not like she doesn't have enough resting trees of her own! But she's like, my sister, part of Raven just like me, so I love her all the same... I just wish..." She kept on chattering as she continued to totter under Beast Boy's weight, which though not considerable, was significantly more than hers. "Ugh, I thought you were supposed to be small!"  
  
He didn't get a chance to answer as she unceremoniously dumped him in the shade of a large, twisting tree. "Ow!"  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She quickly knelt down and touched his shoulder nervously. "Are you okay?"  
  
He glanced up at her, slightly surprised at her concern. "Fine..." He wasn't used to Raven acting like this. Then again, this was a pure emotion that didn't need to hide how she felt. Which reminded him- "Uh, what am I doing here again? In Raven's mind, I mean. I remember going in... and then running, and seeing Timid... it's kind of a blur from there. Do you know?"  
  
Her eyebrows knitted together as she frowned. "You don't remember? With Trigon! We all joined, and then you jumped into the circle." She took his hand and looked into his eyes earnestly. "I was SO worried! And then the others came and jumped in after you, and could have just cried, I thought you were all going to die, or be obliterated completely when our souls joined! I love you guys too much to see you get hurt." She enveloped him in an affectionate embrace, making him stiffen. He carefully returned the hug, slightly nervous. She pulled away and fixed her eyes on his. "I'm so glad you're okay... do you remember any of it now, by the way?"  
  
He blinked and thought hard. He could remember now, and recalled the feeling of being spun at top speed, and then as if he were floating, and had no body at all... "Yeah, I do. Heh, no wonder I feel so wiped out."  
  
She felt his forehead as if for a temperature. "You must be getting used to having your own body again. I mean, you and I, not to mention Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire, were all sharing one body."  
  
He jerked. "What happened to them?" He looked around wildly as if they would come falling out of the sky at any moment.  
  
She tilted her head in thought. "Since you're fine, I'm sure they are too! I'm so happy! I don't know WHAT I would do if... oh my gosh, I can't even talk about it. But you're here, so they must be okay. And well, I wouldn't be here if the real Raven wasn't okay, so obviously... Anyway, I was so worried about you guys..."  
  
"Well, it's a good thing you found me then, huh?" He gave her a grin. It quickly faded uneasily as she let her face get very close to his, once again locking gazes with him.  
  
"You have no idea..." Her voice sounded almost seductive. It couldn't be though, he thought wildly. This was Raven, for crying out loud!  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
She blinked, and the seductive look on her face turned to one of motherly care. "You're right, you need rest! Now lay down," she leaned him against the tree, "and sleep a little. Hopefully your strength will be back in no time." Obeying like a small child, he closed his eyes, only to have them shoot open again as he felt her snuggle against him. Beast Boy gave her a strange look, but it changed to one of contentment as he rested his head against the trunk of the tree, thinking how odd it was that this warm cuddling felt perfectly natural.  
  
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Beast Boy woke up with considerably less effort than it had taken the first time. He immediately missed the warmth at his side, and twisted his head round to see if he could spot Raven. It occurred to him to wonder which emotion she was. She was very worried about his well-being... maybe she was Worry? But she was way too upbeat for most of the time... Before he could contemplate it further, he noticed two purple shoes dangling in front of him. His eyes lifted above the shoes, up two graceful legs to a tree branch, the purple Raven sitting atop of it. She was straddling the large branch above his head, methodically munching down a handful of oddly colored strawberries. He shifted a little, and she glanced down at him. "Hey, Beast Boy. Nice to see you awake! Do you want a strawberry?" He nodded, and she tossed one down.  
  
Beast Boy looked at the lavender strawberry and suddenly realized he didn't know what might happen if he ate it. Rolling it around in his hand, he took a chance to take in the view around him. It was oddly similar to Happy's, but the landscape was violet instead of pink. Plucking a flower, purple right down to the leaves and stem, from the ground, he inspected it, and gave it a quick sniff. It smelled like perfume. He grinned a little and pocketed it, wondering if it would last outside of this place once he arrived back at the Tower.  
  
Glancing up at Raven, he noticed she was once more gazing dreamily up at the few clouds overhead. Following her gaze, he started as he realized the cloud was shaped like Cyborg. "What the-? Is that -Cyborg-?"  
  
She looked down at him and back at the cloud and giggled. "Yup."  
  
He blinked. "Okay..." She didn't offer an explanation. He frowned as he looked up at the sky again. It was a light, light lilac color. Another cloud came along, even lighter colored than the sky. It was in the shape of a woman's face. "Who's that?"  
  
Raven's face took on a loving look, tinged with sadness. "That's Mother."  
  
Once again, he blinked. Her mother! He realized guiltily that it hadn't really occurred to him before that she had parents. Sure, there was that demon... Tito? Tripod? Oh yeah- Trigon. It hadn't really hit him that she was actually related to her though... Raven did have a dark side, but she was no evil demon dude. This woman in the cloud though, looked just like her. She seemed a bit thinner and older of course, but other than that the similarities were striking. He couldn't tell what her hair or eye color was, but he could imagine deep purple in place of the light lavender there now. "How come the clouds are shaped like people?" Even as he asked this, he saw two clouds- one Robin and another a Starfire look-alike- drift by.  
  
"Oh, they're all the people I care about!" She said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She giggled again. "Duh, what did you think; people I was planning to kill?"  
  
He started to laugh, and then stopped. He asked nervously, "There aren't any clouds around here that stand for that, right?"  
  
"Beast Boy, no!"  
  
He grinned. "Speaking of, where am I? In the clouds, I mean," he added when she jokingly pointed to where he was sitting. He said it teasingly, but had to admit he was seriously wondering. He tried to ignore the slight uneasiness that maybe he wasn't there. Raven had been nicer to him lately, right? It wasn't like she didn't like him... didn't she say he was one of her best friends? His fears were swept away with her nonchalant answer.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure you'll show up sooner or later. I'm surprised it hasn't yet; your face usually shows up quite often." Beast Boy tried to hide his pleased grin.  
  
"Maybe they don't think they can compete with the real Beast Boy!" As if on cue, one more cloud wafted lazily over a small hill into view.  
  
"Hey, there you are!"  
  
He stared intently and seriously at his cloud double. Finally: "I look better in green."  
  
She laughed out loud, "No, no! Purple suits you!"  
  
He popped up on his feet immediately. "You want to say that to my face?"  
  
She swung a leg over the branch so she was sitting with her back facing him, and then deliberately dropped backwards. He jumped back a little and her hood bopped him on the nose as it swung back off her head. She was now hanging by her knees and looking him straight in the eyes, although upside down. "Once again: Purple suits you." She smirked at him. Then her eyes traveled downward to his hands. "You didn't eat the strawberry!"  
  
He blinked and looked down at the forgotten strawberry clutched loosely in his gloved hand. "Oh, yeah. Not sure if I wanted to eat it, evil plots against my life and all. You never know if it might have poison, or worse, meat!"  
  
"Oh, come on! It's perfectly fine; I ate it!" She pointed to her juice- stained lips. "Do you want a taste?" It took him a moment to get it, and then his jaw dropped as he gaped at her. Once again, who –was- this?  
  
For a second he thought of the commercials for Spider-Man; due to the constant disagreement with the team on what movies to watch, he'd never gotten to see it, but on ads there had been a kiss between an upside down Spider-Man and some girl... The present situation strongly reminded him of it.  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"WHAT is going on?"  
  
Both turned to see a livid Raven. To Beast Boy's confusion, she was dressed in the familiar white he had seen her in the last time he'd been in her mind. "I've been looking all over for you! What are you two doing?"  
  
"Just talking," said purple Raven, in a voice that implied otherwise. Before poor Beast Boy could even say anything, the other Raven was dragging him away and purple Raven, still dangling upside down, was waving enthusiastically. "Bye Beast Boy! Bye Raven!"  
  
Raven lifted her hand in a brief wave, Beast Boy looked back and grinned. "Hey, thanks! I'll see ya!"  
  
Once again, Raven yanked at him. "No, you will -not- be seeing her, because you will not be in my mind again after this! What were you thinking, 'oh, maybe Raven won't care if I go into her mind, -again-, and nearly get myself KILLED and then don't bother to come look for her to let her know that I'm ALIVE because it's FUN to worry her to death that all her friends are dead!'?"  
  
He tried to lighten the mood. "Aw, Raven, I didn't know you cared!"  
  
It didn't work.  
  
"Beast Boy, don't joke! None of you bother to let me know that your very souls weren't hurled into oblivion or your bodies reduced to ashes or, or something, and instead Robin decides it would be more fun to spar with Brave, Starfire skips around with Happy, and Cyborg has some kind of debate with Knowledge about- machinery, or perpetual motion, or whatever, it doesn't matter, and you think it would be fitting to eat strawberries with Affe- um, with her, because who cares about Raven, let her search for hours for you guys, because really, it won't bother her much that her friends could be dead, or worse!" After this uncharacteristic display of emotion, she flung her hands in the air in aggravation and let out a frustrated, "ugh!"  
  
Beast Boy hung his head guiltily. "I'm... sorry. I should have come looking for you as soon as I felt better."  
  
She stared straight ahead and said shortly, "I found the others. They're waiting at the portal now. Then you can go."  
  
There was a long, uncomfortable silence as they walked through an archway into another realm, this one distinctly yellow and filled with bookcases. Books with yellow binding lined the seemingly endless shelves. Beast Boy hardly saw them.  
  
"Um... so what happened?"  
  
She gave him a look cold enough to start a whole new ice age. "You mean after you risked your life, even though I expressly told you not to?"  
  
"Uh, yeah."  
  
"Well, since the others apparently jumped in after you, our combined powers were enough for me to effectively annihilate him by accident. I wouldn't have because as much as I hate to admit it, he was a part of me, and I had no idea what would happen if that part of me was destroyed." She shrugged. "It could have been suicide, or I could have been destroying my abilities. After all, I did get my powers from my father."  
  
He tilted his head at her questioningly. "But that's not what happened."  
  
"No." She gestured down at her outfit. "This did. Rage isn't...tainted by Trigon now. I'm pure, you might say."  
  
"What does that mean? I mean, I know he's not there anymore, but now..."  
  
She smiled wryly. "I still have to control my feelings, if that's what you were thinking of. But not as much anymore. I'll be able to...explore my emotions more now. I don't have to worry regarding the possibility of my bringing about the next apocalypse at least."  
  
Beast Boy laughed a little, relieved at least that she wasn't yelling at him anymore, and not able to absorb this; Raven would be more expressive? He tried for a moment to imagine what it would be like, and came up with an image of lots of Ravens with different colored cloaks running around the Tower.  
  
Weird.  
  
A book fell and nearly plummeted painfully onto their heads, but Raven reacted quickly and tried to move it with her powers. The dark energy shot towards it, but it was shimmering with white light as well. Instead of moving it, it incinerated the yellow book.  
  
"Whoops." His eyebrows shot up at her, and she looked down. "Apparently my powers are stronger now. Um, I guess I'll have to get used to that..."  
  
Beast Boy glanced back at the small pile of ashes, only tiny pieces of paper and yellow book cover still perceptible. "Huh."  
  
They passed through Happy's domain, and Timid's; they didn't need Timid to show them through this time, as Raven knew the way. They finally made it to the 'neutral' realm of her mind, and Beast Boy noticed the stars were no longer red, but white, as was the corona of light around the moon. He saw the other Titans standing restlessly in front of the portal out of her mind, shaped like a large helmet, colors swirling inside. The Teen Titans looked rather guilty, and he guessed Raven had given each of them the same lecture he'd gotten before she went to find him.  
  
"All right, you can all go now."  
  
They turned to her, bewildered. "Aren't you coming?"  
  
She sighed. "This isn't the real me, my physical body's still in Titans' Tower. Now go, I'll be waking up soon and I don't want to know what you'd do to my mind without me around to stop you guys." She shooed them into the portal before they could further "waste time" as she put it (under her breath). Beast Boy looked back quickly to see her fading away.  
  
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Raven woke up to find herself once again staring into Beast Boy's eyes. He grinned. "Hey."  
  
"Hey."  
  
"You're wearing blue again."  
  
"I was never not wearing blue, genius. The white was just inside my mind, a representation of the lack of evil demon father residing in my psyche."  
  
"Oh...Uh, speaking of, we're sorry we went into your mind. We all feel really, really bad." He shifted so she could see the other Titans behind him, all nodding in agreement.  
  
"You should. I've had doubts about your sanity since I met you; this just proves my point."  
  
"I TOLD him it was a bad idea!" interjected Cyborg.  
  
"But I guess I'm grateful. Thanks."  
  
"I was right behind him!"  
  
Raven smirked at this. "Well, I'm going to rest a while-"  
  
"Oh no you don't! You've been sleeping for over two days; you're coming downstairs with us! No way am I going back in there after you again to get you out of another coma!" Without warning he swept her up from the bed and past their friends, through the doorway. It was reminiscent of a groom carrying a bride over the threshold, though Raven tried not to think of it. He placed her on her feet in front of the door. She glared at him to hide her embarrassment and he shrugged, grinning. "What?" He turned to Cyborg, who'd followed them out. "Are you as hungry as I am?"  
  
"Yeah, but only for anything except your cooking. I'm thinking cheeseburgers."  
  
"I'm thinking tofu burgers."  
  
"I'm thinking I can't believe you're actually capable of thinking."  
  
"I'm thinking you're an idiot who has no good taste in food, and first one who makes it to the kitchen gets to choose dinner!" He morphed into a cheetah and raced down the hall.  
  
"Hey, NO FAIR!" Cyborg chased after him. "The fastest land animal on the planet could have given the human a head start!"  
  
Raven looked to Robin and Starfire. Robin shrugged, laughing a little at the exchange between the two, and jogged behind them. Starfire turned to Raven. "Shall we go?"  
  
"Okay." They both lifted into the air and made their way to the kitchen.  
  
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Final Author's Note: Oh. My. God. I'M FINISHED WITH THE CHAPTER! I could jump for joy. You've no idea how hard this was to write, I knew what I wanted, but it just didn't flow. I hope you didn't think it was horribly boring... I think it kind of was. (sob) I'm sorry. I mentioned Spider-Man the movie, best thing out there besides the two X-man movies and POTC and Finding Nemo. You have to see it. And I have to see Spider-Man 2! Hey, did anyone else notice that in 'Nevermore', the stars and moon in the sky changed from red to white at the end? I was just looking at screencaps of the episode and noticed it! So cool. Heh, and can anyone guess who purple Raven was? I suppose I made it disgustingly obvious, but then again, I have no sense of subtlety. Anyway, if Raven is a little out of character from now on, forgive me! I'm going to be trying to let her loosen up a little now that she's all 'pure', without changing her too much. Anyway, I'm terribly sorry for the wait... on a good note, I've got the next chapter halfway done on notebook paper, been writing it at school. Starfire is in it, since she's been awfully ignored throughout this fic. Robin has too, but I don't care. Anyway, review and tell me how I can fix this chapter up to make it a little better (or feel free to cheer me up; you guys have been so good at that so far!). Love you all. 


	9. Girl Talk

Disclaimer: I own neither the setting nor the plot. I mean, neither the setting nor the characters. Though probably not the plot either, seeing how disgustingly unoriginal this fic is.  
  
Review Replies: Do you have any idea HOW HAPPY you guys make me? My grin is threatening to split my face in half, which could be painful. Not that I mind, as long as you write more reviews! Weeble Wobble Chic, are you serious? I mean, I thought the last chapter was one of my worst, not one of my best! Lain the Fluff-Master, nice of you to notice the lack of Starfire and Robin _after_ I mention it! Hee. Speaking of non-updated fics, I'm waiting on The Sweet Hereafter! I refuse to comment on the fact you wrote a RavenRobin story, in respect that people have their own opinions (Grr). Dana1313, thank you!! Change-Of-Heart2, glad you liked it! SxStrngSamurai13, yes, it was Love. I prefer to call her Affection, though. TigerCat, wow! One of the most flattering reviews I've gotten! RavenForever: Heh, I know. I can't believe it took so long...so sorry! Darkfire, thanks for the link, and the chocolate, and the roses. EvilSpirit: Continuing...(grin) Macabeak: Anytime. Spandexmonkey- Yes, who _are_ you to talk? You, who for some reason did not update "Shattermouth", even though it's really cool, and sniff I asked you to...Ry, yeah, those two are my favorite characters, which is a big reason I love them together...thank you for your good wishes. I love you guys.  
  
Author's Note: Nothing really happens in this. Raven and Starfire talk, and that's...about it. Sorry, no Beast Boy and Raven interaction in this one, though he is definitely mentioned...I wasn't planning on this chapter, but I figured Starfire had to come in somewhere, and it's a good way to introduce the next chapter, where I'm considering actually placing Robin in, since he's also been grossly neglected. Not that I care. I just like his hair. Okay, so there ought to be about...(counts)...three chapters left. Perhaps four. I know, I know, I said like, two, but I added a few situations. Heh, sorry.  
  
Timeline: Day after "Purple Strawberries" (Chapter Eight). Two days after "Sweet Dreams" (Chapter Six).  
  
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Chapter Nine: Girl Talk  
  
"Raven?"  
  
Raven carefully opened eye. Her door was slightly ajar, and she caught a glimpse of green eyes and red hair. "Yes?"  
  
"May I come in?"  
  
"For what?" Her voice was tight. She hated being interrupted in meditation.  
  
"I have something for you...and I wish to 'girl talk' with you about something. Perhaps we could meditate afterwards? If you wish to, of course."  
  
"Well...sure, come in."  
  
Starfire beamed and stepped into the room, holding white box. She sat gingerly on the bed as Raven sank down from the air to land next to her.  
  
"What's this?"  
  
Starfire silently handed the box to Raven. Raven opened it slowly, not quite knowing what to expect. Inside was a neatly folded leotard and cape identical to Raven's in everything except for color; this new one was a fresh, pure white.  
  
"Wow..."  
  
Starfire seemed very excited. "Oh Raven, will you try it on? I would very much like to see if it fits!"  
  
"Sure..." Raven was nearly speechless. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting to be in the box, but this was not it. Starfire slipped quickly out of the room while Raven changed. When she reentered, it was to find Raven staring into the irregularly shaped mirror above her dresser.  
  
"Oh, I knew it would fit!"  
  
"How did you know the right size? And where did you get this?"  
  
Starfire looked away. "When we switched bodies, I took the liberty of checking the sizes of your clothes...I knew you would most likely not let me otherwise, and I thought it could come in useful for the future...If you ever told us your birthday, I thought perhaps I could get you a new outfit of clothes! You do not often dress up."  
  
"No...I uh, guess not. But where-?"  
  
"There is a very nice tailor downtown, I think he is the one who fixed your uniform that time I damaged them during training?" Raven winced slightly at the memory of the starbolts hitting her in the stomach unexpectedly, also managing to singe a hole in her uniform. It had been one of their first training sessions as a team, when the Teen Titans had been newly established. Raven had been forced to find someone to fix them, since that had been her only outfit at the time. She had many more made by the same tailor, since she didn't wish for the same experience. "When I informed him of your new circumstances, he was delighted to help!"  
  
Raven had an odd look on her face, like she wasn't quite sure how to react. "Well, thanks Star. That was really...thoughtful."  
  
Starfire took Raven's hesitation and expression as disappointment, and her face fell. "Oh, you do not like it?"  
  
"No, no! I think it's great. I just wasn't expecting it. Just...well, thank you." Now the other girl's expression lit up. "Oh, marvelous! I shall have the tailor make many, many more!" She bounded happily out of the room, Raven staring after her. Dealing with the alien's enthusiasm was rather like surviving a very, very cheerful hurricane, and the quieter girl leaned heavily onto the dresser. She stole another glance at the mirror, and couldn't help but feel a little pleased at this new look. She hadn't gotten a chance to see herself in white before, having not been that way anywhere other than her mind, but she wasn't too unhappy with the effect. It showed she didn't have evil in her anymore, something that had more than once kept her up at night and made her feel a little unworthy of being in the Teen Titans, a fact she didn't admit to anyone other than herself, because of her pride and the nagging fear they would begin to feel the same.  
  
Her train of thought was interrupted when Starfire burst into the room again. "Oh, Raven I-!" Seeing her friend's startled look, she checked herself and backed up a step. "Oh dear. I am sorry! I should have knocked, it was thoughtless of me- but I nearly forgot I have something of some importance to discuss with you..."  
  
"All right. About what?" Raven looked coolly at Starfire. It apparently unnerved Starfire a bit, because she shifted a little uneasily.  
  
"Weeeellll..." She dragged the word out, and Raven's suspicions were suddenly aroused at the obvious attempt to stall. "You know Robin and I are going on our first official 'date' tonight. We have been 'together' for a few days, but I am not sure you knew. We had been quite worried about you not waking up, so we have not had the chance to go out yet. He is taking me to the cinema."  
  
"Okay." Raven waited patiently for the point.  
  
Starfire swallowed and glanced at Raven nervously. She took a deep breath. "I wish you and Beast Boy to have what Robin and I have."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"It is quite apparent that Beast Boy cares for you in a...different way than he does for the rest of us. It is also apparent, though not as much so, that you return these feelings."  
  
Raven asked slowly, "What makes you think that?"  
  
"Because it is the same way I feel for Robin, and he for me."  
  
There was a long silence. Then, "Beast Boy doesn't have a crush on me, Star. And I don't have a crush on him, okay?"  
  
"Raven, we are friends! You do not have to deny your feelings."  
  
"I'm not denying my feelings," said Raven unconvincingly. Somehow she found it hard to lie to Starfire. "And well, even if I did- which I don't- there is no way Beast Boy likes me in that way. I'm not...his..._type_, or whatever. Let's leave it at that."  
  
Abruptly Starfire stood up, accidentally knocking over a small group of candles on the bedside table, the candlesticks landing with a resounding crash. Starfire didn't even notice, and Raven silently thanked the gods the candles weren't lit. "Raven, why must you be so blind? Beast Boy was by your side every minute you were not awake! He made Cyborg check you over time after time when you would not awake, and he was the one who was so concerned that he went into the mirror to find you! Why can you not see that he cares for you in the same way you care for him!" She raised a hand sharply to cut off Raven's retort. "I do not see why you feel the need to lie to me Raven, but it hurts me. I will forgive you, however, if you simply speak to Beast Boy and make your feelings known, for he is the only person as blind as you." Her face was flushed with emotion, and she had to take a deep breath before once again sitting down. Earnestly, she took Raven's hand. "I merely wish you two to be happy, and I'm afraid that neither of you will take the chance for it."  
  
"I _am_ hap-"  
  
"Raven! Even if you are content to let this go on, I am not, and will not rest until you and Beast Boy are happy, whether you like it or not." Raven would have smirked at this contradiction if she weren't so worried about what Starfire might make her do. Starfire pointed firmly toward the door. "You will go now, and speak to Beast Boy."  
  
At that moment they heard yelling and the faint sound of scuffling, and the thump of a door slamming. They looked at each other, puzzled. "Should we go help?"  
  
Raven shrugged. "Let them be. I'm sure they'll get over their weirdness someday." There was the sound of a toilet flushing, and another muffled yell. "Er...or not."  
  
Starfire looked down at the floor as if she expected it to suddenly yield to her gaze, and show them what was progressing downstairs. It was uncooperative, so she turned to Raven again. "Well...perhaps we should wait." At Raven's relieved look, she narrowed her eyes. "On second thought, perhaps you ought to go now. Just so I know you will not try to get out of it."  
  
"Didn't you say you wanted to meditate? We could try to contact spirits again..." Never, thought Raven dryly, had she ever expected to be so eager to communicate with dead people.  
  
"No, we can do that later."  
  
"Can't I have a minute to gather courage? Prepare myself for the mortification in store?"  
  
"No, you will only end up gathering fear." She ignored Raven's remark of already having enough of that. "You must go now, while determination is fresh!"  
  
"What determination?" Stalling for time, Raven lifted the candlesticks Starfire had knocked over and placing them back on the table with her powers, allowing two broken ones to drop into a small barrel. "Just remember, I blame you when Beast Boy decides I'm insane and that he no longer wants to be my friend."  
  
"Do not worry, Raven, nothing will go wrong!" proclaimed Starfire, cheerful once more. She pushed Raven through the doorway, and Raven heard the click of the lock.  
  
After a moment, there was a sudden realization.  
  
"She just locked me out of my own room."  
  
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Final Author's Note: YES! I'm going to Martha's Vineyard this weekend...hee. Also, I got Linkin Park's 'Meteora' because I got a good report card last term, and it totally rocks... Anyway, this chapter was disgustingly boring, I know, but it's a good lead up to the upcoming chapter. So...review! 


	10. Boy Talk

_Disclaimer_: I don't own the Teen Titans. They belong to...er, the owners of Teen Titans. Heh.

_Review Replies_: **Lain**: Just wait until Chapter Eleven; your hopes will be answered. Pretty much. **Change-Of-Heart2**: Thanks. I wanted it to be fun, but wasn't sure how it came off.... **SxStrngSamurai13**: Thank you so much, I really did think it was kind of boring. This made me feel loads better! **TigerCat**: Don't bump your head on the ceiling or anything! Heh. **Spandexmonkey**: I'm sorry! Didn't mean to sound too demanding or anything—no, I lie, I actually did, but don't worry about not updating too much; there was a terribly long spot where I didn't update this story at all, so I know finding time to write stuff is kind of hard. Also, long reviews good! **Wordbearer**: Thanks! That was exactly what I was shooting for, since I don't really like it when they confess their undying love within like, one minute of realizing there are any feelings at all. **Katinstyle2**: That is one great review...long. Long is good! Thanks for the ego-boosting, it did me a world of good. **SilentVectorX**: Oh dear. I'll do my best to update as many chapters by then. Thanks for the interest in this story! Good luck with training. **The Uncanny R-Man**: It's nice to hear from you again! Just wait until next chapter. **Dark**: I was wondering where you'd gone, lol. **Einvine**: Here's the next chapter! **Kingzilla**: I love RBB fics too! Coincidence? **EvilSpirit**: Smile, I'm continuing! **Maxwell Dark, Macabeak, RavenForever**: Thanks!

_Author's Note_: Martha's Vineyard was awesome, and I came home three days later to find like, twenty reviews, all of them wonderful. Thanks, guys. So now I have over one hundred reviews!! My life is complete...

_Edit_: This chapter has been edited. A makeover, if you will, because it sucked. A lot. In my opinion, at least.

_Timeline_: Occurs at exact same time as Chapter Nine ("Girl Talk") is going on.

* * *

**_Chapter Ten_: Boy Talk**

Beast Boy slouched on the couch in front of the TV, ignoring the program playing in front of him. Instead, he was thoughtfully twirling a small purple flower between his fingers.

It was slightly crumpled and a bit dry, but otherwise still very pretty. He thought it resembled some sort of cross between a pansy and some other flower- in identifying the flora and fauna of the world, Beast Boy much preferred the latter, for obvious reasons. Still, he did know this flower probably didn't exist in the normal universe. This only made it all the more intriguing, in particular because of where it came from. He sniffed it again. The perfume smell was faint, but still there.

"Beast Boy...why are you watching a Spanish soap opera?"

Beast Boy hastily shoved the flower into one of the few pockets of his uniform. "I'm not!"

Cyborg snorted. "Uh...sure looks like you are. I mean, when someone is sitting in front of the TV, and the TV is on, generally the person is watching the TV," he said pointedly. He nodded toward the TV. "And that TV is most definitely on one of those Spanish soap operas."

Beast Boy blinked at Cyborg; then he turned towards the TV and blinked at the screen. Indeed, there _was_ a Spanish soap opera playing. There was an abnormally thin woman speaking angrily and rapidly to a very distressed-looking man, while ominous music played in the background. He vaguely wished he could understand what they were saying, then wrinkled his nose and switched it off. "Wasn't paying attention," he muttered, slightly embarrassed.

Cyborg suddenly grinned, giving Beast Boy a vague feeling of unease.

"Got something on your mind? Or rather...someone?"

Crap. "Yeah, well, what's that supposed to mean?" he demanded rather lamely. He nearly cringed at how unconvincing he sounded, even to himself.

Cyborg sighed and shook his head. He walked around the couch and sat next to Beast Boy with an audible thump. "We need to talk, man."

Beast Boy gave a half-smile and raised his eyebrows. "And what do you think we're doing now?"

"Shut up and don't be smart with me," chided Cyborg, wagging a finger at Beast Boy. "You will listen, and do what I say, or you will suffer dire consequences!"

"Who's suffering dire consequences?" Robin hopped over the back of the sofa and landed on Beast Boy's other side.

"I'm performing an intervention," Cyborg informed Robin gravely.

"Oh, thank God."

"What? Intervention? I don't drink! Or do drugs! What are you intervention-ing for?!"

Beast Boy almost missed the grins the two exchanged, because in a split second they were replaced with faces so grim, they had to be hiding grins underneath. He narrowed his eyes and wondered what the heck they were up to, and if it had anything to do with Raven. He seriously considered praying to heaven for mercy.

Robin placed a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. He said seriously, "Beast Boy, there comes a time in every man's life when—"

"DUDE!" In a heartbeat Beast Boy had leapt backwards. He was now crouching defensively, perched on the back of the couch.

Robin raised his eyebrows. "Wow, nice reflexes!" he said, clearly impressed.

"Are you trying to give me The Talk?! Nooo way! Not happening! In case you've forgotten, you're _my_ age! You are _not_ giving me the talk! Just because your going on your first date doesn't make you 'all knowing'," he rambled. "I'm not having this conversation. No! It's wrong, it's disturbing, it's-"

"Hey, how'd you know I was going on a date?"

Both Beast Boy and Cyborg blanched. "Uh, well..."

Suddenly Cyborg smacked Beast Boy on the back of the head.

"OW!"

"Stop trying to change the subject, BB!"

"ME? I didn't try to change the subject! I'm just the scapegoat!" He morphed into a green billy goat. Unfortunately, this caused him to lose his balance and fall forward onto the couch again.

Either Cyborg's scapegoat ploy had worked, or Robin had become sidetracked in untangling his and Cyborg's limbs from Beast Boy's goat legs, because Robin had become suitably distracted. "Turn back, didn't we say we had to talk to you?"

Popping back into human form, he protested sullenly, "I never said I didn't want to talk!"

The other two boys looked at each other. "Sure, Beast Boy."

"Well, if it's The Talk, I'm leaving."

Cyborg looked at Robin. "Why don't you let me handle this one, Rob?"

"Be my guest. Somebody's got to do it."

Cyborg nodded.

Beast Boy grew increasingly nervous.

Cyborg took a deep breath. "Why aren't you and Raven going out yet?"

Beast Boy blinked at them.

"Come on, BB, don't tell me you didn't take my advice!"

"Advice...?"

"Just ask her outright!"

"Oh, right!" He paused. "Well...I did! Um, sort of. It didn't go too well." He cringed, remembering the failed attempt. At least he hadn't embarrassed himself miserably. For the most part.

Robin raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Sort of?"

"Well, I asked her if she liked any of the other Titans."

Cyborg rolled his non-mechanical eye. "Way to be direct, B."

"What'd she say?"

He scratched the back of his head self-consciously. "She told me she was madly in love with Star, and then implied we were all gay. Or maybe female." He laughed weakly.

There was silence for a moment, and then Cyborg and Robin started laughing at him. "Ha, smart girl," Cyborg snorted, but then suddenly stopped. "Wait, all of us? That's not fair!"

"So she didn't admit she liked you?"

"Dude, there's nothing to admit, because she doesn't like me! Which is why I don't want her to know I like her! Everything would be weird, and she probably wouldn't want to be my friend anymore. And that would be...bad." He attempted to imagine life without Raven talking to him. It wasn't as if she talked all that much anyway, but having her avoid him altogether would suck. "Bad, and not to mention _awkward_."

Robin and Cyborg both opened their mouths, presumably to convince Beast Boy otherwise, but all three of them jumped suddenly when they heard a loud crash from upstairs.

"Gah!"

"Dude...what was that?"

All three heads craned up toward the ceiling, as if it were going to suddenly collapse on top of them.

"You think Star's having that talk with Raven?"

Beast Boy's head snapped down. "She's having a talk with Raven? You didn't tell Starfire I liked Raven, did you??"

Cyborg shrugged. "Nah, but I think she's figured it out anyway."

Robin finally lowered his head as well. "She said she had to have a talk with her. She got Raven a present too. No idea what it is. She told me it was a surprise."

Cyborg looked pointedly at Beast Boy again. "Anyway. We have a mission for you."

Robin grinned a little. "And as leader of the Teen Titans, I order you to carry it out, understand?"

Beast Boy glanced dubiously at the two of them. "What is it?"

The duo simultaneously said, "You have to ask Raven out on a date!"

"WHAT? No way, man! I'm not going to!"

Cyborg and Robin exchanged significant looks. Cyborg nodded in silent concurrence. Then he turned to Beast Boy, eye glinting mischievously. "That's what I was hoping you'd say, little man."

In a flash, Beast Boy was thrown over Cyborg's shoulder, loud protests doing nothing to help him. The bathroom door slammed behind them.

Robin leaned casually against the doorway, closing his eyes and shaking his head. It was an extreme measure, but necessary all the same.

"No, NO! C'mon, you're not serious—?!"

There was a loud flush and muffled yelling.

"OKAY, OKAY, I'LL DO IT! LET ME GO!!"

Moments later, Cyborg's head emerged.

Beast Boy's voice could be heard from behind the door. "That was...so...nasty."

Cybborg, however, was grinning wildly. "I don't think I've convinced him enough. Can I do it again?" Cyborg sighed when Robin shook his head no. "You sure?"

"Well..." Robin pretended to consider, but then Beast Boy's pleading voice was heard.

"Come on guys, I said I'd do it. You're supposed to be the Good Guys, defenders of the innocent! I'll ask Raven out; just let me out so I can do it!"

The two Titans smiled smugly, and Cyborg said teasingly, "I don't know..." He stepped back into the room menacingly. Robin pulled him back out, however, when he heard footsteps coming from the stairwell. They smiled innocently.

"Hey Raven!"

"Great cloak!"

Raven walked toward them, and stopped in front of them. "Hey. Have you seen Beast Boy? I need to...talk to him."

They looked at one another, and back at Raven. "Uh...he's kind of busy right now."

At that moment, the door behind them opened, and Beast Boy came out with a pained look on his face. "Thanks for that, guys. Somebody should clean that toilet once in a-"

Beast Boy stopped short when he saw Raven. He blanched as her eyes traveled up to his head, which was soaked. She blinked several times. "Maybe this is a bad time...?"

His eyes widened, and the bathroom door slammed again. Robin and Cyborg grinned sheepishly at the bewildered Raven, choosing to ignore the muttered, "Kill you two," they had heard before the door had shut.

Hearing the shower turn on inside of the bathroom, she gave them an odd look. "I'll...go. Tell Beast Boy I'll be up on the roof, I need to talk to him. Bye." She left them, wisely choosing not to question about the incident further. Some things were better left unknown.

* * *

_Final Author's Note_: Mwahaha, my school burned down yesterday morning! Well, fine, only the computer room and media center, and it was morning before anyone came and it was put out in a matter of two hours...but still, school was cancelled today! And for the rest of this week, and possibly some of next week! Bad side: We wouldn't have had lessons anyway, because of the field trip, and all the computers are dead now. ≡Salutes≡ You may have been crappy computers, but I shall miss you all the same! ≡Sniff≡ I'll probably never be able to play Chicken Invaders again! JUST when they installed a GOOD game into the computers...


	11. The Logical Conclusion

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. I'm tired of saying I don't own them. I mean, sure, why not rub it in?  
  
Review Replies: Macabeak; Good work, yeah, I'll do that...has NOTHING to do with the school on fire! Shifts eyes SxStrngSamurai13; that makes one of us... Wordbearer; they weren't forving him into admitting his feelings- he already did that! Just forcing him to ask her out...I'm so lame. Anyway, pressure's on, I guess...Lain the Fluff-Master; Yes, they will, and yes, she has (sort of), and you are so sweet...I'm glad you liked the poems one. Nevermore-raven; thank you!! TigerCat; Don't kill Cyborg, he's necessary to the fic! Well, actually, after this, no, so go ahead. Um, I _AM_ joking. Change-of-Heart2, I wouldn't either...ha, my mom gardens too, but her love of flowers is apparently non-genetic. RavenForever, you...rock. Because you made me feel better. SilentVectorX- dude, cool quotes. That said, thanks for the advice. I too, was slow that day, and I'll go back and edit it to make it clearer. DarkBird2; blows nose Thanks! I feel better. Jimaine; I'm sorry about the length- I love long chapters too! It just seems that I'm like, physically incapable of writing long chapters. It annoys me. Also, I LOVE when people tell me exactly what they liked about the chapter, therefore I love you. Soul Stealer Immortal; thanks, I got the idea from that one where Star goes into the future. I was wondering where she got the cloak, lol! Werewolf of Fire, thanks. Katinstyle2, I've never had a boy talk either! Huh. As for the 'can the Ravens come out too?', you just gave me an idea for a sequel. Whoa. And one possibly with an actual plot! Tell me what you think of that. Also, cookie for you for catching the candlestick reference from chapter 9, yes, Robin is sort of mean, sorry winces, and I remember those scenes from the Amanda show. Hee, thanks. The Mad Shoe, my feelings exactly! Apatha; wow, brutally honest isn't too bad! Fanfic Gurl, thanks!(!!!) Weeble Wobble Chic, sorry I took so long! Red52, I'm gonna go look up coercion now...Kimuu, thanks. Wow, this is long. That's what I get for taking so long to update, I guess...  
  
Author's Note: AAUGH. _SO_ LATE! I'm _SO_ SORRY!!! Explanations at end of chapter. This chapter is pretty short, I think...not quite sure, since I'm doing it in a different font. Anyhoodles, this is the moment you've all been waiting for...but it is not the end. There are still one or two to go! So don't stop reading!  
  
Timeline: Occurs about twenty minutes after the previous two chapters.  
  
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Chapter Ten: Twisted Logic  
  
Raven sat on the roof of Titan's Tower, waiting for the sunset. Her legs dangled lazily off the edge. She had no fear of falling, for she had absolute faith in her powers of levitation.  
  
"Whoa, nice clothes, Rae." She turned at the quiet voice behind her.  
  
"Hey Beast Boy." Raven momentarily forgot what she was going to have to do as he sat down easily beside her. "It's from Starfire, she thought it would be fitting for my new circumstances."  
  
He grinned at her. "Right, the mind thing. Which," he said gloatingly, buffing his nails against his chest, "I helped you with!"  
  
Raven rolled her eyes. "You're so obnoxious."  
  
"It's a gift."  
  
"From who? Because if it's from a man with a pointed tail, goat feet, and horns, I've got some news for you..."  
  
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Come to think of it..." She just shook her head at him. He leaned his upper body way over, so that his forearms were resting on his knees and he could look directly down over the edge of the roof.  
  
"Careful," she told him automatically.  
  
He just grinned at her and looked back down, wiggling his feet. "Ever think what it'd be like if you jumped? Maybe like skydiving, except with a big splat at the end."  
  
"Have you ever gone skydiving?"  
  
"Yeah, once with my parents. I think...I'm pretty sure I did. I was like, five or six though."  
  
"Is that even legal?"  
  
"Judging from all the obscure countries in Africa we went to, it'd probably be legal in one of them. Really though, what do you think it'd be like?"  
  
She frowned at him. "I thought I was the allegedly depressed one. You're the comic relief, remember?"  
  
He turned his head again. "The _handsome_ comic relief guy!" He pointedly ignored her smirk and stared at the ground below again.  
  
"Why are you asking?"  
  
"Because. What I'm about to do. Is scary. So this seems like an okay alternative..." At her slightly panicked look, he snickered. "I'm joking!"  
  
"So what were you about to do?"  
  
She wasn't sure, but it seemed like he paled a bit. "Asking. Asking you..."  
  
Before she ask what he was going to ask her, he jumped.  
  
She actually shrieked, before gasping loudly in relief as he morphed into a hawk before he'd even fallen two stories. Her heart was beating and her stomach had plummeted as if it had been her who'd made the jump. He swooped through the air, into a circle and upside-down back to the roof of the tower. Just before he hit it, he turned into an armadillo, curling up into a ball and rolling forward a foot or two before smoothly changing into himself again, standing effortlessly with arms thrown up.  
  
"TA-DA!"  
  
She laughed out loud and he grinned, quite obviously pleased with himself. It really was nice talking and being with Beast Boy, and that was one of the main reasons she liked him. He almost always made her laugh or smile- at least on the inside. And now on the outside, thanks to his journey in her mirror, as he had been so quick to point out. Really, he seemed to take her mind off things like...  
  
And of course, that brought what she had to do rushing back to her.  
  
"Hey, are you okay? You look kind of nauseous." He had eased himself back down next to her, and now rested his hand on her shoulder, brow furrowed in concern. "I didn't make you _that_ nervous, did I?"  
  
"I'm fine. I just- I realized I haven't had any dinner yet."  
  
He nudged her and nodded toward the door. "Some tofu would fix that."  
  
Her nose wrinkled. "Please, no."  
  
He whined. "Aw, come on, Raven! What's so bad about it?"  
  
"It has no taste."  
  
"You could put ketchup on it."  
  
"It's...too healthy."  
  
"You drink herbal tea like, every day."  
  
"I have too many healthy things, then."  
  
"Not gonna cut it, Rae..."  
  
"Fine. I'm biased against it because you always tell us to eat it. But that doesn't change the result. I'm _not_ having any."  
  
He smirked. "You admitted the reason though! I knew I'd wear you down. It's only a matter of time before you're stuffing yourself with tofu like there's no tomorrow."  
  
She bit her lip, amused. "I suggest a therapist. Maybe he'll be able to disillusion you."  
  
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." They were silent for a second or two, before Beast Boy finally blurted, "Did you want to talk to me?"  
  
Gah. He had to remind her. She felt vaguely nauseous again. She glanced at him, then quickly back, wondering what Starfire would do if she didn't tell him...She nearly winced as she remembered how much those starbolts _hurt_.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Is it really important? Because, I uh, have something to ask you. And I'd rather get it out really, really fast. So can I go first? Please? Then you can go...if you don't kill me by the time I'm done." He grinned awkwardly, and she noticed he was blushing. What brought that on? She nearly smiled at the obvious dread he felt from whatever he was going to ask her.  
  
Raven thought for a moment, thinking she probably ought to go as soon as possible, before she lost any nerve she had left.  
  
"Well...ask away."  
  
'As soon as possible' was overrated anyway. She'd much rather stall.  
  
And there went years of training for self-discipline.  
  
Beast Boy gulped, and said in a rush, "Do you like me?"  
  
Her jaw actually dropped. She hadn't thought people did that outside of books and movies. She took a moment to digest this question before saying, "I take it you don't mean in a platonic way?"  
  
He blinked at her owlishly. "Uh, this has nothing to do with tonic..."  
  
If she hadn't been feeling so flustered, she would have laughed at him. "Platonic. As in, non-romantic."  
  
He smiled sheepishly. "Ah, right. Well, yeah." After a pause, he asked, "So, do you like me?" He seemed a trifle less apprehensive, probably because he felt he had already asked the question- all he had to wait for now was the consequences.  
  
Her mind went blank. What was one supposed to do when somebody asked a question like that so bluntly?  
  
Oh. He was expecting an answer sometime today, wasn't he?  
  
"I...do you like me?"  
  
"I asked first," was his immediate answer.  
  
"I..." Should she deny it? Or just admit it? After all, that was why she was there, she might as well.  
  
"I'd rather not answer that question." Coward.  
  
He turned away. "Oh. Okay. Well, I won't answer your question either, then." She snuck a peak at him. He seemed embarrassed. Then unexpectedly, his face changed. A small, mischievous smile spread across his face as he turned to her. "So, you do like me."  
  
Raven blinked at him. "What??"  
  
"If you didn't, you would have said so! So that means you like me."  
  
Her mouth opened, and then closed again. "Well- just- that logic is so twisted."  
  
Beast Boy grinned at her. "I don't see you denying it."  
  
She stared at him for a few seconds. Finally, "Well, then according to that twisted logic of yours, you like me. So...there." Raven couldn't help but smile at how stupid this was sounding. He actually smiled back, which eased the awkwardness just a little.  
  
Only a little, though.  
  
"Well. Okay then."  
  
"All right."  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Fine."  
  
"So we both like each other then."  
  
That gave her pause. What exactly was going on here? Did he actually just say that? Well, it wasn't like she could deny it now, she'd all but said she liked him. And if he was going to say he liked her back...well, she wasn't going to argue. "Fine."  
  
There was silence as they watched the sun sink below the city skyline. The gold, pinks, and purples faded as darkness took over and stars appeared, and Raven contemplated the odd conversation they had just shared.  
  
Abruptly, he said, "So if we both like each other, we might as well go on a date, huh?"  
  
Raven's jaw dropped for the second time in minutes. She glance at Beast Boy, only to see he was staring pointedly at the spot where the sun had gone down, not looking at her. She thought she saw the corners of his mouth tug up though.  
  
Tilting her head, she thought for a moment. A date sounded nice. She was a superhero after all, so she could surely handle this. Especially now that she was 'pure'. No pesky demon father to worry about... Yes, a date sounded nice.  
  
"All right then."  
  
Now his mouth was definitely forming a smile, and she felt her mouth curve too as they looked at each other.  
  
"Cool."  
  
"Right."  
  
"Dinner and a movie?"  
  
She felt herself blushing as he waited for her approval. Dinner and a movie...she'd never done that. Dinner, yes. Movie, yes. Not both, and definitely not with Beast Boy. Sounded nice. She said so. "Sounds nice." The fading blush came back full force as he beamed at her, and she looked away and pulled her hood up. For some reason, it didn't feel like it hid her as well as the dark blue one did.  
  
"Tomorrow?"  
  
She nodded. "Tomorrow. Does around six sound good?"  
  
He grinned. "Any time sounds good with me."  
  
Would the blushing _never_ stop? "Ahm...six it is then. She moved to get up, but he swiftly rose and offered his hand.  
  
And the blushing lived on. She took the proffered hand and stood, quickly pulling the hood further over her head. He shook his head. "Nope." He pulled her hood down.  
  
She pulled it up again.  
  
He pulled it down.  
  
She pulled it up.  
  
He pulled it down.  
  
Cyborg opened the door.

"Hey, BB, mission accomplished?" Seeing Raven's raised eyebrows, he blanched. "I mean...you guys want dinner? It's kinda getting cold." He quickly withdrew, and Raven turned to Beast Boy.  
  
"'Mission accomplished'? Was this just some kind of dare?"  
  
His mouth dropped open. "NO! Just...I was sort of too scared to ask you out, but then they told me too. Rob and Cy are...convincing." He glared at the door as if they were there, and then smiled at her. The contrast in the two looks was enough to make her smile. He looked hopeful. "You aren't mad, right?"  
  
She sighed. "No." It was a plausible explanation, seeing how reluctant she'd been to voice her feelings.  
  
He offered an arm. "Shall we go then, milady?" She tilted her head as if considering the arm, then raised her hands to her hood again. She felt a hand on her arm. The hand moved it down to the proffered arm, and she let him hook her arm around his.  
  
They walked downstairs, and she left her hood down.  
  
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§  
  
Final Author's Note: Hey, you know when she was thinking about dinner and a movie? There was foreshadowing there. Can you figure it out?

Due to a near fatal mix of procrastination, inconvenient stuff to do, having an actual social life for the first time, reading a really, really good book, reading several _badly_-written Draco/Ginny Ron/Hermione fanfics (my favorite fanon HP pairings ) whose writing rubbed off on me so that anything I wrote sucked, an extreme lack of inspiration and this blasted emotional roller coaster I've been riding all week, rendering me unfit to write (I cried four times on Sunday alone), this chapter is very, very overdue.  
  
Don't kill me.  
  
It's not (by any stretch of the imagination) my best work, but I like it A LOT better than my last chapter, which stunk more than those pesky skunks outside. PLEASE review and tell me what you think, and ways to improve it are ALWAYS welcome, as usual, and vastly appreciated. Seriously, I actually use your ideas, I swear! Speaking of, does anyone know of a super scary movie for the date? Better yet, can anyone tell me the name of the movie that they watched in the Fear Itself episode? I think it was the sequel to something, so maybe they can watch the triquel. Anyone who can think of the name of it gets a cookie and the chapter where Raven and Beast Boy watch the movie dedicated to him/her. Thanks.


	12. Dinner

_Disclaimer_: Glen Murakami owns Teen Titans. I disclaim them!

_Author's Note_: Special thanks to **Cyekitty**, who was the first to let me know the name of the movie Raven and Beast Boy will watch in chapter fourteen. And many, many thanks to **Change-Of-Heart2**. I wrote the original poem that was in this chapter. It was _horrendous_. I went to her, and she took the time to write the poem that now appears here. It's so sweet and, happy as I am with the improvements I'm making to Closer, this poem is definitely my favorite change to the story.

* * *

**Closer**

**Chapter Two: Dinner  
**

"You ready?"

Beast Boy's head whipped around so quickly that there was a crack. He winced and rubbed his neck. "_Ow_. I mean, _yeah_. Ready!" He popped up from the couch, not quite registering Cyborg's cries of triumph as Beast Boy's abandoned car exploded somewhat spectacularly on the TV screen.

Raven eyed the television. "Nice fireworks. I hope you didn't have any money on that."

Beast Boy spun around. "Huh? Man, lost _again_? I was winning, too."

"_Sure_ you were. Pay up."

Beast Boy groaned and began to dig through his pockets. He froze and narrowed his eyes. "Cy, you cheater, I didn't bet anything this time."

Cyborg heaved a sigh. "Hoped you'd forgotten." He winked at Raven. "I was trusting the pretty lady here would distract you."

Beast Boy scowled good-naturedly. "No flirting with my date, dude."

Starfire came barreling into the room, so enthused that she floated a good foot off the ground. An enormous Polaroid camera hung from her neck, its weight possibly the only thing keeping her from shooting through the ceiling. "Are you ready? Are you going now? Oh, let me take a photograph with the camera! Please?"

Beast Boy and Raven stared at her. "Uh, Star, it's just – going out, and stuff. It's not our, you know, _wedding day_." He gestured at the uniforms they still wore. "We aren't even dressed different."

"This is an important occasion. I insist!" There was no dissuading her, and the two were forced to pose for the camera. Beast Boy looked decidedly flustered, and then irritated – Cyborg was making faces at them from behind an oblivious Starfire – and Raven managed to look bored and annoyed in one go. She was talented like that, he mused absently.After several minutes of snapping pictures from various angles – and with a photographer who can fly, there are quite a few angles to choose from – it began to seem that Starfire wasn't planning on letting up. When Robin walked in and her head whipped around, both Raven and Beast Boy were immensely relieved. "Hey, Star, aren't you going to let them leave?"

Her mouth formed a perfect 'O' of realization. "Oh, I'm sorry! You must go, or you will never have time to both eat and watch the movie!"

Beast Boy shrugged. "Actually, we couldn't agree on a good restaurant, so we just decided to eat dinner here and stop at Raven's café for drinks."

Cyborg frowned. "Why are you guys leaving now? We haven't eaten yet."

"I ate twenty minutes ago."

Beast Boy grinned. "And I multi-tasked! Ate a sandwich while we were playing."

Cyborg blinked. "You did?"

"You didn't notice?"

"Are we ever going to go?" Raven asked impatiently.

"What _kind_ of sandwich?" Cyborg asked dubiously.

Frustrated, she lifted Beast Boy with her powers and deposited him in the doorway next to her. He fell over. "Come on, before I change my mind."

He just grinned up at her. "You wouldn't. My charms have you captivated. You can't resist me."

At least, he hoped so.

She rolled her eyes one last time before sweeping out of the room. Beast Boy noted cheerfully that she didn't deny it.

* * *

"So, this is the place, huh? Cheery." 

The café had no true doorway, instead simply opening up into the mall. Yet, defiant of the laws of nature and physics, daylight refused to cross its threshold. Only the guttering candles secured to the walls provided illumination. The resulting effect gave him the heebie-jeebies. He'd never seen this place before – he usually just went to the food court. A simple black and white sign read, "Shadows: Café and Poetry."

"Shush." Raven led Beast Boy through the slender marble columns of the entryway. He looked around uncertainly as she chose a table in view of the stage at the back of the café. In the center of the stage, a dim spotlight illuminated a lone wooden stool and a microphone.

He searched for words that could describe the feelings that this place elicited from him. "It's really..._dark_."

"Mhm." She was already heading for the counter, behind which a tall, pale boy stood. Raven stopped dead at the sight of him. "What are you doing here?"

The pale boy raised his eyebrows. "Working," he said blandly.

Beast Boy stepped up, eyes flicking back and forth between the two. The widening of Raven's eyes was barely perceptible, but he spotted it. Who was _this_ guy?

Raven swiftly veiled her surprise. "Since when do you work here?"

"Day before yesterday. You want something to drink?" He looked at Beast Boy."Just a soda, I guess. Got any Mountain Mist?"

"Just Sierra Dew," replied the guy.

"Uh, that's fine." Beast Boy scrutinized the guy as he turned to Raven to ask her order. Black hair fell limply over one eye, and he had heavily lined the other with black eyeliner. Actually, save for his pallid face, the boy was covered from head to toe in black.

"Strawberry shake." Beast Boy snapped out of his inspection as Raven ordered her drink. He looked at her incredulously.

"Strawberry shake? _Seriously_?"

She gave him a dark look. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Who's this?" The pale kid looked at him with what, on a normal person, might not have passed for a change of expression at all. For _him_, it was probably curiosity.

"I'm Beast Boy," he said uneasily.

"From the Teen Titans."

"You know _other_ Beast Boys?" His impassive countenance was really starting to unnerve him. "Um. Who are you?"

_And why is Raven so weirded out to see you? _

He didn't ask the second part.

"Goth." Beast Boy resisted the immediate instinct to hold out a hand to shake. He had a feeling Goth wouldn't really be accommodating.

Raven looked disapproving. "I don't know why you keep telling everybody to call you that. It just encourages using labels. Everyone knows that's not your real name."  
­­  
"No one's ever finding out my real name." Any other person would have sounded or looked irritated, but Goth's expression and tone of voice didn't vary even once. Beast Boy couldn't decide if he was creepy or boring. He made even Raven look like a regular stand-up comic.

"Have it your way. Drinks, please." She set the money down on the counter.

"Here you go."

Beast Boy grabbed the drinks and Raven took her change. Making a beeline for the table, still fazed by Goth and hurrying a little more than he should have, he nearly bumped into a feral-looking tattooed lady. He wasn't sure, but he thought he heard her growl.

This place made him a little nervous.

Raven looked utterly relaxed as she stepped neatly around Beast Boy and the woman and sat easily in her chair.

"Heh. Sorry?" Beast Boy darted to their table. "Here." He slid the milkshake to her. "So, what's with the milkshake?"

"_What_ is your problem with the milkshake?"

"You just don't seem like the type of person who drinks strawberry milkshakes, is all. I thought all you drank was _tea_."

She let out a small 'hmph' and stabbed her straw through the cover of the milkshake. She took a moment to sip from it. "Mm." Swallowing, she said, "That's the only thing I drink at the _Tower_. Here, I get strawberry milkshakes every time."

"But why?"

She sighed. "You can't expect me to drink the same thing every day and not get a little tired of it, can you?"

"Okay, I've gotta say, getting the same drink every time? Not exactly what I call _variety_, no offense. Traditions start somewhere! And, come on, strawberry milkshakes, that's just random. Spill."

She groaned and placed her hands on her face. "You are..._so_...annoying."

He couldn't help grinning. "I _know_ that. What I don't know yet is the strawberry milkshake part."

"They taste good!" She muttered something else under her breath, but Beast Boy decided he'd be better off not asking what, exactly. He also determined that asking about strawberry milkshakes was _probably_ hazardous to his health.

They sipped drinks in silence as Beast Boy envisioned possible death scenarios. It wasn't every person who was lucky enough to know ahead of time how they'd die. He already knew it was Death By Raven.

Somehow, he was still tempted to ask about the shake. It'd only be speeding the inevitable, anyway.

For her sake, he bit his tongue, and instead broke the silence with, "So, who was that guy?"

She smirked. "The guy with tattoos who was going to squash you for crashing into him?"

"Wait, that was a _guy_? But – the hair – I didn't knock into him! I just..._almost_ knocked into him. Um. I meant the guy behind the counter. _Goth_."

He saw Raven tense. "Just a...person. That I..._know_," she finished lamely. It wasn't often he saw her at a loss for words.

He frowned at her. "Seriously, who? You looked a little edgy when you saw him."

She rolled her eyes. "No one." At his look, she exhaled noisily. "I hung out with him before." He continued to watch her expectantly. "I went on a date or two with him, that's all."

Beast Boy was floored. He'd expected the worst, but the worst wasn't _this_. She hadn't mentioned this. He and Raven weren't attached at the hip, but he thought they _talked_. Maybe the deep heart-to-hearts weren't an everyday thing, but maybe a "Hi, Beast Boy, nice weather, and did I mention I'm _dating somebody_?" as they passed in the hall, or over breakfast, would that have been so hard?

"When?"

"Remember when Blackfire came to 'visit'?"

He snorted. "Sorry, no. Crazy girls who try to off their own sister under our noses, they just aren't that memorable."

"I met Goth when we went to that party."

Beast Boy fiddled with his straw. Well, at least that explained why she hadn't bothered to tell him – it had been before they had been...well, before they'd been actual friends, really. But— "I never saw him there!" Crowded as it was, wouldn't he have noticed a guy like _that_?

"We were in a dark corner—"

Beast Boy paled.

"—talking about how pointless the party was.""_Oh_." He gave an inaudible sigh of relief. "Well, okay then."

"We went on a couple of dates later on."

"Uh. Why didn't it work out?"

"Show tunes. Don't ask."

"Heh, fine with me."

'_Screee!_' Both Titans jumped at the sound, and Beast Boy winced as the sound of the microphone hit his sensitive ears.

"Oh, _God, _ow..."

"Testing! Testing, one two three! Testing!"

"We can hear you fine! Stop shouting into that thing!" one of the customers yelled.

Oh, hey, it was tattoo lady...guy.

"Sorry, about that, everyone!" the emcee screamed into the mike.

Raven covered her eyes with one hand in a frustrated gesture. "They must have changed open mike night to Fridays. Do you want to leave?"

He shrugged. "Nah, it's no problem. Let's just finish our drinks."

"All right. I have to warn you, though, you might not like this type of poetry. And it's not like everyone's a professional here."

He watched dully as a smallish girl with more eyeliner on than Goth scrambled onto the stool. "_My heart bleeds...bleeds...bleeds_." He made a face behind his soda. Raven could— hell, _he_ could probably write better poetry than this. He forced himself to watch the stage. At least it took his mind off...that _guy_.

Raven tilted her head. "Is the poetry that bad, or is something the matter?"

"Nothing," he said, wishing he weren't so transparent.

She just narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's _nothing_. I'm just thinking stuff, is all."

"Bull." She leaned in. "It's your turn to 'spill,' so _spill_."

He cocked his head, starting to smile. "Actually, you never actually did tell me—" His smile dropped at her glare, and he looked down. "You're here with me, when you could be out on a date with Goth, or somebody, uh, who basically doesn't annoy the hell out of you? I mean, show tunes or not, he just seems like more your...type." He gestured in the air vaguely.

Raven rolled her eyes at him, though he couldn't see why. "Please. _That's_ what you're down about?"

"Well, yeah."

"Goth is...well, _boring_. And maybe you'll think this is weird coming from me, but he's depressing. He doesn't care about anything. I thought he was like me, but I have reasons for acting indifferent. It isn't like I don't _care_." Her straw squeaked against the plastic cover as she moved it back and forth. "I care about..._you_ guys, anyway. The Titans. Him, though. Nothing. Except for his show tunes, maybe. He _really_ likes the musical Annie, actually."

He had to spit his soda back in his cup. "Aw, gross."

She wrinkled her nose. "Annie, or the spitting?"

He grinned. "No way, the spitting. Annie's awesome."

"Should I be scared?"

"Probably, yeah." He leaned forward. "Why did you agree to come with _me_, though?"

Raven sat back. "You care. I like that." She closed her eyes and made a face as though her teeth had just been pulled out. "I like _you._"

Beast Boy only laughed, exhilaration streaking through him as if he'd just run a mile. "You said it. Finally."

She folded her arms on the table and promptly dropped her head in them. He didn't know if it was from embarrassment or from how stupid he was acting. Probably the latter.

"Subtlety is just _beyond_ you, isn't it?" She raised her head a few inches. "Now, at least, are you satisfied? Or do I have to write an epic poem declaring my undying 'like' for you?"

"Hey." He considered this. "Hey, yeah. That'd be cool! You should totally do that. I can have it engraved on my tombstone."

"Dream on."

He shrugged and clasped his hands behind his head. "All right. It's okay if you can't."

"Excuse me?" Raven narrowed her eyes at him and her posture straightened defensively, but he only smirked.

"It takes a lot of work to write poems. If you're up to it, I completely understand." Beast Boy could have laughed aloud at the look on her face.

He knew she was too clever to not realize he was just egging her on, but he also knew she hated when he acted all superior, especially while also implying she couldn't do something that she _clearly _could. He could practically see the internal struggle going on inside her. Give in, or pass up a chance to prove him wrong?

Finally, she stood up and stalked to the counter. "Give me some paper and a pencil," she demanded. Goth unhurriedly fulfilled her request. Snatching the supplies from him, she returned to the table, obviously pissed off, much to Beast Boy's amusement. He didn't know what it was about infuriating her that was just so _fun_. Maybe this was what extreme sports felt like.

In fact, it was weirdly similar to the excitement he felt during a mission. Maybe he was a thrill junkie, he thought. He watched fondly as she sat down in a huff, and figured if that was the case then he'd found the right girl.

Sitting at the table, she went to work. After only about ten minutes, she slid the paper in front of him. "There. I refuse to write any more. And don't even think about somehow getting me to read it out loud, because I kind of hate you right now."

He sing-songed, "No, you don't," and barely ducked the pencil that flew at his head.

_I always thought I was alone,  
Unwanted, unloved,  
One of the harshest realities I've ever known.  
But then, there you were,  
Wearing a smile truly of your own...  
And all for me.  
Thank you for helping me to see  
I'm not as alone as I thought myself to be._

He swallowed, looked up. Her hood was up and she was staring intently at the now-empty stage. So he simply said, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." She tugged her hood up a little higher. "Seriously. _Don't_ mention it. Let's go, are you finished?"

"Yep."

They both stood, and Beast Boy looked over the poem a last time before thrusting it in his pocket, exhaling.

"So, what movie did you pick?"

Beast Boy smirked. "You'll see."

They stepped out of the café. "So. Why a strawberry milkshake?"

* * *

_Man, that poem just embodies what I love about this ship. **Change-of-Heart2**'s a poet that happens to be excellent at writing Raven's point of view. She has some TT poems on this site that you can see at her profile. _

_As I edit, it shocks me how much my writing has changed, and that despite this story's many flaws, everyone was nothing but kind to me when they reviewed. Man, what were they all thinking:) If you see something that seems off to you, be it grammar or plot, make sure to tell me! Reviews of any kind make me a happy gal._


	13. Interlude: The Wait

_Disclaimer_: I don't own Teen Titans, Glen Murakami does. Go away; you lawyers are not wanted here! (weakly shakes fist)

_Author's Note_: This is a useless subchapter, made so that the story does not end at unlucky thirteen!

* * *

**Thirteen: "Interlude: The Wait"**

The three remaining Teen Titans lay sprawled on the large sofa in the Titans Tower, having nothing better to do at the moment than wait, sleepily, for the other two team members.

"D'you think they kissed yet?" asked Cyborg, who was already half asleep.

"Must we talk about this? What goes on between Beast Boy and Raven stays between them, as it does with Robin and I." Starfire was slumped against Robin, her head resting on his stomach.

"Not when we spy on you guys. We're trying to get blackmail material."

"Cyborg, that's gross," protested Robin half-heartedly. He was tired, and didn't have the energy to be mad. Really, as if they didn't know that Cyborg and Beast Boy would have no sense of privacy.

"Well, we turn off the cameras whenever it gets too mushy," admitted Cyborg. After some thought, he realized, "Which kind of defeats the purpose of getting blackmail on you."

"Good job, Einstein."

There was a long silence, and Starfire dozed off.

Robin yawned loudly.

"They're probably making out right now," said Cyborg, just to bug Robin. Truth be told, he'd just as soon not think about it. But he had to avenge his honor somehow.

"Shut up, you're disgusting." Robin nearly threw a pillow at Cyborg, but then realized that would involve actually moving. So, he didn't.

They fell asleep.

* * *

_Final Author's Note_: Ridiculous chapter, I know. 


	14. And a Movie

_Disclaimer_: Teen Titans belongs to Glen Murakami. I disclaim them!

_Author's Note_: The final chapter. Heh, I'd felt so bad for updating this so sporadically, so I updated this last chapter on my fourteenth birthday as a sort of present to myself. I never, _never_ would have finished this if it weren't for the encouragement and great suggestions from those who reviewed as I was writing this fic. These people made my first real foray into Teen Titans fandom an amazing and incredibly welcoming experience. Thanks to everybody for your help, and I hope that you've enjoyed the fic.

* * *

**Fourteen: "And a Movie"**

"I was in a café, nothing on the menu was anything like what they had in Azarath, and I just picked something off the list of drinks."

"So a strawberry milkshake, that was the first drink you ever tasted in this dimension?"

"Yes. Then I found herbal tea, which they do have in Azarath. They do have different herbs in it, but I found the tastes were at least similar. I drink it to calm my nerves." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking a little distant. "Strawberry milkshakes are still nice sometimes. Remind me of my first days on Earth. How completely different things are here."

"Yeah. Earth's pretty freaky, I guess." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Heh. I wonder who invented milkshakes."

"Wow." She looked at him suspiciously. "No more questions? You're satisfied with my explanation, finally?"

"Well..." His grin didn't bode well.

Raven briefly ran through her compilation of dire threats to find a suitable conclusion to the sentence, "_If you mention milkshakes one more time..._"

His excited, "Here we are!" interrupted her. She pursed her lips, threats dissolving on her tongue. It was just as well, in any case. Society frowned upon killing boys on the first date.

"What movie are we seeing?"

He shrugged, pretending at nonchalance.

She scanned the list of movies above the doors of Jump City Cinema. One caught her eye immediately: "Wicked Scary 2: The Evil Returneth." She swallowed. He wouldn't. There were plenty of other movies playing. Nodding to herself, she moved up to where Beast Boy already stood in line.

"I'll pay for my own ticket."

He looked at her as if she were raving. "Dude, no."

"Dude, yes," she mimicked sarcastically.

"Dude, no! You paid for the drinks. I pay for the movies, and then it'll be fair," he pointed out.

"The tickets cost more, Beast Boy."

"Well, yeah. But should I pay for the more expensive thing. It's like, the law."

"_What_?"

"I saw it in a magazine! I'm the one who asked you out. I should pay for the date. I already broke a rule by letting you pay for the drinks, you should be grateful!"

"I should be grateful...that I got to _pay_," she repeated incredulously.

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I...guess." This sort of twisted logic got her into this date in the first place, she thought sullenly. Arguing with him only caused more headaches for her.

The moving line saved her from further dispute. Beast Boy promptly paid the ticket guy before she could hand him any money, saying, "Two tickets for Wicked Scary 2, please."

He did _not_ just say that.

"You did _not_ just say that."

He smirked. "Say what?" As if he didn't know, she thought, eyes narrowed. She began to reconsider this increasingly appealing _killing the boy on the first date_ idea.

"Don't you _remember_ what happened last time?"

Beast Boy turned away as he handed an acne-stricken teenage boy their tickets. "Geez. Could I not? Your little fun house of terror probably gave me like, psychological scars." He shuddered. "But," he continued as he faced her again and headed toward Cinema 12, second floor, "believe me, I wouldn't take the chance if I didn't have complete trust in you."

She grumbled, pushing back any stupidly pleased feelings in favor of her more pressing worry. "Touching as that is, Beast Boy, your confidence in me doesn't guarantee our safety."

"I'm not a complete idiot, okay?" She raised a finger to retort – he'd just made it so easy – but he cut her off. "Handsome funny guy goes first, remember?"

Again, she began to speak, but he simply clapped a hand over her mouth and continued on as if nothing had happened. "But I figure, since Evil Giant Demon Dude is gone, and you know that the scary things came because you were scared and didn't admit it, well, as long as you _admit_ that you're scared, I think we have a pretty good chance of surviving this date, don't you?"

"Mmph!" She glowered and pushed his hand away. "_Fine_."

"It's okay," he added as they reached the entrance of Cinema 12. "If you get scared, you can hold my hand." He grinned mischievously at her.

She was really abusing the privilege of rolling her eyes.

Preventing herself from doing so, however, proved to be even more difficult than she'd ever anticipated. It was only once they were inside the theater that she remembered Beast Boy's fixation on finding exactly the right seat in the theater. The process, he insisted, was a delicate and crucial one.

"You can't sit too far back. It's so small you might as well go watch normal TV. You can't see the whole screen at once when you're too close. The seats have to be in the center, because angle seats just suck, and that aren't next to anybody that looks, you know, really creepy or something, or a bunch of loud people, because then you can't..."

Raven just wanted to sit down.

Or run out of the theater before the movie came on. That would be fine, too. She shivered as she thought of tentacled somethings creeping up the aisles in the dark, wrapping around her ankles...

"HA! Perfect," said Beast Boy in a loud whisper, making Raven start.

He ran down one row and leaped into the row in front, landing inelegantly into one of a pair of vacant seats. Raven followed with somewhat less enthusiasm, occasionally glancing at the screen apprehensively. "Is it starting soon?" she asked as she settled in.

"Nah, we're super early." Beast Boy shifted a bit, then abruptly said, "Hey, you want to get some snacks?"

She blinked at him. "We just had dinner an hour ago."

"I'm hungry. The ads aren't even on yet, we might as well, right?"

She shrugged. "All right, let's get something from the front."

She moved to get up, but Beast Boy hesitated. "We have to save our seats!"

"No one will take them, let's just go."

"No, these are the perfect seats. Like, ten people will be scrambling to get at them as soon as we get up!"

"Fine, then let's _not_ get food."

Beast Boy was still for a moment. "Can we use your cape to save our seats?"

She snorted lightly. "Sure. Then all I'll have to wear is my leotard. Not likely."

He raised his eyebrows, looking as if he wouldn't necessarily object to such an outfit, but a voice nearby cut off whatever comment he was about to make.

"Hey, aren't you the Teen Titans?"

Raven turned and saw two teenagers about to take the two empty seats next to her. They grinned, nudging each other and pointing at her and Beast Boy.

"Two-fifths of them, anyway," Beast Boy said to them, standing.

"Beast Boy, you can do fractions?" Raven murmured to him in mock shock.

"Humph. That's mean. _You're_ mean."

"Dude, it's like, an honor! I can't believe I'm meeting Beast Boy in person!" One of the boys, the one with a pierced eyebrow, clumsily tried to shift the massive tub of popcorn he was holding from one arm to the other before realizing he couldn't hold it without both hands. He finally shoved it into the arms of his friend with the goatee. He held out his hand to shake Beast Boy's.

"No kidding. We never thought we'd meet celebrities here!"

"Yeah, don't you have like, your own private theater or something? I'm Dan. This is Anthony, you can ignore him."

"Shove off! And take this stupid popcorn. I want to shake his hand too!" Goatee-guy – Anthony – proceeded to do so, taking Beast Boy's hand reverently. Raven watched, highly amused.

Then they turned to her. "So, you're actually Raven?"

"Can we see you do your powers? I think they're so cool."

She looked pointedly around the theater. "Right now might not be the best time for that."

As if to prove her point, someone hissed at the two boys, "Sit down! I can't see the previews!" Oddly, the screen was still black.

The boys turned to Raven and Beast Boy again once they had settled. "Hey, how come you guys don't have any food?"

"Well, we were gonna go get some—"

"Hey, do you want us to save your seats for you?" Dan asked eagerly.

"Really?"

"_Totally_. We want to sit next to you guys, we can't let some random jerks take your seats!"

Beast Boy looked pleased, and gave them a "Thanks!" before making his way to the aisle with Raven in tow.

As they reached the aisle, Raven could hear one of them whisper rather loudly, "Wow, Raven's even cuter in real life."

"Cha, man."

Beast Boy cast a startled look over his shoulder. He seemed to frown for a moment, but he turned away so quickly that she couldn't be sure if it had only been her own wishful thinking.

Whatever it was, he appeared to have forgotten it by the time they reached the concession stand. "Hey, you want to share a popcorn thing?"

She craned her neck to see around the others in line and nearly cringed as she spotted the giant tubs of popcorn on display. The 'small' was nearly the size of the movie screen. "All right. Don't think I could ever finish one of those, anyway. You do eat popcorn with butter, right?"

Beast Boy made a face. "No way!"

"How can you possibly eat plain popcorn?"

"Pretty easily, actually," he laughed.

"Why not butter? Because it's dairy?"

"Sorry. It's just, I've been those animals."

"So you're saying you've been milk, then?" she asked jokingly.

He sighed. "It comes from cows, that's all. It's weird."

"Cows are female, so unless there's something you're not telling me, I'm sure you've never been one. It's not like it hurts them, right, being milked? It's good for them. They get bloated otherwise. Or...something."

He barely suppressed a laugh. "Raven, the cow expert?"

"I don't know, I wasn't paying much attention to the documentary, but I know it's not bad for them. That's all."

"You were watching a documentary on _cows_?"

"My secret passion for all things bovine is exposed." At his incredulous look, she told him, "Starfire found it on the nature channel. I was on the couch with her, reading." She pointed. "Now, buy." They had reached the front of the line.

Beast Boy ordered a bucket of popcorn, with butter.

The previews were on when they entered the theater again. Raven could see little else but the screen in the darkness, and she wondered how they would ever find their seats. Beast Boy led them directly to their row, apparently having no problems in the dark.

"Um. I'll go first, 'kay?" He stepped in front of her. "You shouldn't have to sit next to those guys."

"I didn't mind them or anything," she whispered as they made their way through the row. Her mouth twitched in a wry smile. "What, afraid they'll hit on me?"

"No," he said hastily. He averted his eyes as they sat down.

* * *

"Hey, this stuff isn't half bad," admitted Beast Boy, munching on a handful of popcorn. 

Raven was a little too busy staring at the screen in horror to respond. A man had just— well; perhaps it would be better not to say. However, it involved quite a lot of teeth, eyeballs, and pain, and much to her dismay, was much, _much_ scarier than the first Wicked Scary.

They were only ten minutes into the movie.

Somehow, through the haze of pure, unadulterated fear the likes of which she'd never experienced, she _did _notice when he stretched his arms up as if yawning. _No one_ yawned during this movie, even if it was a lull in the action – the only reason she had enough wits about her to realize what he was doing.

She'd seen far too many movies during Starfire's romantic comedy kick – which was still going on (Robin, the boyfriend, somehow managed to escape whenever she wanted to watch one, and Raven, the only other girl, always ended up fellow-watcher by default) – to not know what Beast Boy was doing.

As he lowered his arm to oh-so-subtly rest behind her shoulders, she shot him a death glare. It quickly changed to a petrified stare, fixed on the screen, as the monster returned for second helpings. The glare did get the message across, as he grinned sheepishly and his arm landed on the armrest instead.

It didn't matter in the end. She ended up gripping his hand tightly in terror, anyway. She didn't see his smile. It vanished at a particularly gruesome scene, and everyone in the theater shrieked in fright.

* * *

"Dude. That was...so..._awesome_." 

She couldn't move. She_ wouldn't_ move, or the monster might get her. Which was a stupid idea, really, but after what happened last time, one could never know.

"Uh...Raven? You okay?"

There was a gloved hand waving in front of her face. Who did it belong to? Not the monster. Oh, Beast Boy. So the monster hadn't gotten him. That was good.

"Raven. It's time to go. The theater's like, empty."

She vaguely felt him hoisting her up by her free arm – free arm? What was she holding onto? – and leading her out of the theater.

"Hey, Raven. Raven. You can look now...there're no freaky monsters around yet, I think we're safe."

She blinked. "I...Beast Boy?"

"Yeah. Are you all right?"

"Fine. Just a little...terrified, that's all."

"Do you want to go home now? It's kind of getting late. I bet the others are waiting up for us so they can interrogate us about everything we did."

"Joy." She realized as they began to walk again that they were already halfway home. They had gotten that far already without her noticing? She also realized something else. "You're holding my hand," she said accusingly.

He glanced at their hands, undisturbed. "You started it."

"Maybe we should..." She tried tugging her hand out of his, with no result. "...let go?"

He seemed to think it over for a few seconds before answering. "Nah."

She reluctantly let the issue go for the moment, instead glancing at the clock tower some distance away. "Isn't it quicker to fly home?"

"If I didn't know better, Raven, I'd think you were trying to get rid of me!"

Was that what he thought? No, his eyes were laughing at her. She huffed quietly and said in retaliation, "That's exactly what I'm trying to do."

Beast Boy feigned hurt. "I'm hurt. Well, sorry, Rae, but it looks like you're stuck with me."

She sighed a sigh that was meant to express her resentment of this great burden he was forcing her to bear in noble silence, but it came out sounding rather more contented than she intended.

His hand was warm, even through the thick material of his glove, and even though she'd watch a dozen romantic comedies and cow documentaries with a smile on her face than actually admit it, it felt...nice.

She tried very hard not to feel the tiniest bit thrilled on the inside. She almost succeeded.

Beast Boy continued talking to her, making blatantly obvious attempts to get her to laugh, and she did, a little, against her will. This just encouraged him, and he made a few more cheesy jokes, which he clearly knew were bad by the way he laughed when she groaned at how appalling they were.

"I'm at death's door, Beast Boy. The corniness is slowly killing me."

"But you're laughing, aren't you?"

"It's either laugh or cry."

They reached the edge of the water. He shouted, "Race ya!" and she let go of his hand as he morphed into a pterodactyl and launched into the air. He soared in a circle around her, making her cloak billow and mussing her hair up a bit.

She muttered, "Showoff," just loud enough for him to hear, and lifted into the air as well.

* * *

"I let you win, you know!" he declared as he landed just a second after her. 

At the large entrance of the Tower, both paused. "They're probably waiting in the living room for us," said Beast Boy hesitantly.

"Yeah." Raven bit her lip, and after a moment of indecision gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thank you."

"Er." He touched his cheek, and Raven, feeling herself begin to turn red, turned away.

She looked back when he didn't follow, and frowned. "Wipe that stupid smile off your face and come on."

"Purr."

"I will curse you in your sleep."

They'd entered the living room, and Beast Boy turned from cat to human to comment unnecessarily, "They're asleep!" He looked slightly put out. Even she'd expected an overenthusiastic Starfire to greet them, at the very least.

Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin lay on the couch, dead to the world. Cyborg snored loudly.

Beast Boy walked right up to Starfire and Robin. "Cute couple, huh?"

"Almost sickeningly so." All the same, she smiled a little at them. Starfire's head rested on Robin's stomach, and one of his arms wrapped protectively around her torso. "It is sweet, I guess," she admitted.

"C'mon, let's not wake them up." Just before he turned away, he stopped. "Hey, if I turn into a bird right now, will you pull off a feather really quick?"

"Why?"

"I just want to try something." His grin did arouse her suspicions, but he turned into a crow and held out one wing expectantly. Raven sighed and approached him, bending down to gently tug one feather off. She handed him the feather when he changed again.

He placed it on Cyborg's nose.

"_What_ are you doing?"

"Seeing if it works like on the cartoons..." He trailed off as the feather rose into the air on Cyborg's exhale, and landed again as he inhaled. "Awesome!" He laughed aloud, and she dragged him out of the room before he woke them up.

"I don't know why I allow you to come near me."

"My charm and dashing good looks?" He stopped, bowed. "May I walk the lady to her door?"

"That's not charm, that's _smarm_. My door is two steps away from here, and it's on the way to your own room."

"I can't help that, can I?"

They were at her door, and she opened it before pausing, feeling like she ought to say something. She didn't know what, though, and apparently neither did he.

Awkward

She put a hand on the door.

Beast Boy swallowed and made a noise. "Grdsk."

She turned, squinted. "What?"

"Wdks." He clapped his hand over his eyes in embarrassment. "Dang. Um. Don't leave, I'll get the words out someway." He peeked through his fingers. Sighed. Drew his hand away and reached out to her, briefly, before pulling back and rubbing the back of his neck. "Do you want to...?"

She froze. This was it, the _moment_; this needed long consideration – "Yes."

He leaned forward and kissed her.

She dimly heard something smash in her room, and it would suck if that was her glass sphere from Azarath, and Beast Boy was kissing her, _oh_.

Hesitantly, she raised her hands to his shoulders and kissed him back. It wasn't earth-shattering, this kiss, heaven and hell didn't shift because of it, the universe wasn't changed forever, but it was very warm, and a little tingly, and her stomach had more than a few butterflies, and it was a little like holding his hand.

But a lot cooler.

"So that's what it's like," she said.

"Really? I don't know, I don't think I got a clear idea, maybe we should—"

She rolled her eyes, pushed him. "Maybe on the next date."

He smiled like he'd won something. "Fine with me."

* * *

A pair of mismatched eyes peered around the corner, one eye steel blue, the other a glowing red. Above those was a pair of bright green eyes, and above those, a pair hidden behind a mask.

* * *

These eyes spied a smiling boy make his way to his own room, whistling a tune. As the door shut behind him, there was a collective sigh from the owners of all three pairs of eyes. 

"Finally."

* * *

_End_


End file.
